JOURNAL CULTURE
PAST AND PRESENT WITH COURTNEY TOLLISON HARTNESS, PH.D. AND DONNY SANTACATERINA
Roads: Biggest issue in turn-of-the century Greenville is back for more ment as a daily feature in The Greenville News throughout the early 1900s, no major efforts were made to improve roads until the introduction of the automobile to the area. The first automobiles in Greenville caused quite a stir. Richardson marveled, “Horse and mules were stricken wild at the mere sight of an automobile, not to mention the swell and sound. Swashed vehicles and broken limbs littered the roadsides in their wake… Laws limiting speed to a snail’s pace were enacted. That was hardly necessary, however, since the roads didn’t permit [any greater speed]...” By 1904, Greenville County had only five automobiles. By 1914, however, Greenville had 1,038 automobiles, more than any other county in South Carolina, and according to local scholar A.V. Huff, represented the wealth and population boom in this area in the early 1900s. During these years, City Council adopted an automobile speed limit of 15 miles per hour, and authorized funds for the paving of Main Street, its arteries, and Augusta Street. The Greenville News called the road problem a “political issue upon whose disfavor county offices are sought,” suggesting that road conditions were perpetually an issue, but that little was ever done about it politically, as the stranglehold of bureaucracy prevailed over meaningful action. Finally, after years of political debate and many surveys regarding which roads were most travelled, Greenville residents finally took the matter into their own hands in 1914, and raised $950,000 through the issuing of “road bonds” to be used for county road construction. John W. Norwood, the Greenville County highway commissioner, went straight to work. After construction, the new roads system was upheld as a “monument” that was “heralded throughout all the Southland.”
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After this initial success of Greenville’s “million dollar bond issue,” other counties throughout the state followed suit by establishing road bond programs, and a modern road system developed, making it safe to drive automobiles without fear of losing a tire in a rut in the road. Two years later, the federal government first forayed into road financing, passing an act in 1916 that provided grants to states to support highway development. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Congress passed a Federal Highway Act in 1938, but the recommendations from the resulting study were delayed by World War II, which would ironically reinforce the need for such efficient means of transporting the general public and military personnel and artillery. In 1954, during the Cold War, Presi-
dent Dwight Eisenhower proposed an act – which Congress passed two years later – appropriating funds for a federal interstate highway system. It was the largest public works project in American history, and has resulted in the creation of our modern interstate system. In Greenville, we have successfully and creatively dealt with the issue of our roads before; we now must deal with it again. Dr. Courtney Tollison Hartness is assistant professor of history at Furman University. She may be reached at courtney.tollison@furman.edu. Donny Santacaterina is a junior history major from Greenwich, Conn. This fall, he is conducting research on topics of local history.
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We have been down this road before. As the conditions of our local infrastructure deteriorate, Greenville County residents currently face the option of a 1 percent sales tax increase. While this particular debate is recent, these challenges are not. Over the past 200 years, Greenville County roads have evolved significantly from their modest roots through the mountain passes of the Upcountry. According to local historian Mann Batson, the roads of this region developed from Cherokee game trails, war paths, and trading routes that slowly took form as Native Americans traversed the most moderate grades over mountains, discovered the easiest spots from which to ford rivers, and carved paths through thick forests to reach local colonial trading posts. As the fur trade grew, so did the need for functional roads that could withstand rainfall and remain open year-round. However, the vertical grades of the South Carolina foothills complicated this goal, especially regarding wheeled travel. In 1817, stateappointed civil and military engineer John Wilson described our steep and winding roads as “oppressive and ineffectual.” In 1853, Greenville earned its first railroad, connecting the town to the capital in Columbia. However, despite such investments in more efficient transportation and the enormous growth of textile manufacturing in Greenville, by 1900, “highways were in very little better condition than they were 100 years before,” according to Upcountry resident and State Senator James M. Richardson. “Pick and shovel” gangs of local men from the communities were called upon to make repairs to their local roads, sacrificing their time from harvest and family in order to keep the roads passable. Despite articles discussing improvements and the “Good Roads” move-
OCTOBER 17, 2014 | THE JOURNAL 55