In 1873, a "disastrous Court House fire" wiped out many public records and a large portion of ante-bellum newspaper files of Abbeville County. Over the course of two decades, the author collected material to reconstruct the county's history from the nineteenth century to modern times, with particular attention given to slavery and race relations. Chapters include: W. C. Benet and Jeff David Case; Burt - Stark House; "Slave and Masters," The Slave Experience in an Upcountry South Carolina District; Slave Holders of Abbeville District, 1790-1860 from the Federal Censuses; Largest Property Holders of Abbeville District from the 1860 Census; New York Times and the Brooks Dinner at Ninety Six, October, 1856; The Unusual Story of Mrs. Floride Bonneau Calhoun's Nephews; "Hominy Pot," Harold Lawrence's Poem and the Mt. Carmel Incidents upon which it was based; The Missing Sheriff; Abbeville Lynchings, a Historical Perspective; Abbeville Newspapers; and, The Coming of the SAL Railroad and the Cotton Mill. "Most of the very lengthy index deals with Federal census records."