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Until the Civil War, several steamboats such as the Pee Dee,
Maid of Orleans, Osceola, Swan, Anson, Marion, Robert Martin and
Chesterfield operated on the Pee Dee River carrying goods from the
Georgetown-Charleston area to Cheraw, the farthest point north the
goods could be carried by river. After the Civil War, a railroad was
built between Wilmington and Charlotte which brought an end to the
need for goods to be shipped to Cheraw. In 1907, the Cheraw and
Georgetown Steamboat Company was organized and two boats, the Ghio
and Merchant, purchased. The Merchant made its first trip July
7, 1908, and this picture of it was taken during its first year of
operation as evidenced by the damaged covered bridge. |
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Covered Bridge--The first covered bridge across the Pee
Dee was built in 1823 but was burned during the Civil War. The
second covered bridge, pictured here in the early 1900's, was built
in 1866 and remained until the flood in August, 1908, washed away
all but a short section on the Cheraw side. The town immediately
began work on a new steel bridge which, at 600 feet, was the longest
of its type in the state. The short portion of the covered bridge
that had not been washed away, was still used to enter the steel
bridge from the Cheraw side. The steel bridge was destroyed after
the present one was built farther upstream in 1938. |
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When the Carolina Central Railroad was constructed between
Charlotte and Wilmington shortly after the Civil War, steamboat
traffic on the Pee Dee between Cheraw and Georgetown was
discontinued. Following a government survey of the river in 1892, it
was once again cleaned out and the Cheraw and Georgetown Steamboat
Company began operation in 1907 with two boats, the Ghio and the
Merchant. The present location of the boat landing at Riverside Park
was where goods were unloaded and transported up the hill to a depot
by means of cable track. Improving roads brought the need for river
traffic to an end by the early 1920's. |
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The Cheraw and Georgetown boat, the Ghio, shown at the Pee Dee
River landing loading cotton to be shipped to markets in Georgetown.
(Photo from "Historic Chesterfield County, SC" and the collection of
Glen Oliver.) |
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The Merchant--Moses Rogers, captain of the first
steamship to cross the Atlantic, commanded a steamship on the Pee
Dee River around 1819 between Cheraw and Georgetown. An 1822
newspaper records that the steamship Pee Dee took four days and six
hours to make the trip between the two towns. Other steamships to
operate on the river during the 1800's included the Maid of Orleans,
the Osceola, the Swan, the Anson, the Marion, the Robert Martin and
the Chesterfield. In this photo from the early 1900's, the
Merchant can be seen docking in Cheraw at the present location of
Riverside Park with passengers and goods. The first trip of the
Merchant took place July 7, 1908. |
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The Ghio--The Ghio is loading in Cheraw for a trip to
Georgetown. The railroad tracks from the loading area at the
dock can be seen in the background. |
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The Ghio--Steamboats ushered in the beginning of
widespread trading in Cheraw, as the town became the port for
distribution to the surrounding counties in North and South
Carolina. The Ghio was one of the steamboats to navigate the
Great Pee Dee River. The Cheraw to Georgetown route was used
for many years. |
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Cheraw and Georgetown Steamboat Company Warehouse--In
1907 the Cheraw and Georgetown Steamboat Company was formed to
revive trade on the river. A tram track led from this Church Sheet
warehouse at the top of the river hill to the Great Pee Dee River
below. Goods were brought up by a pulley arrangement and stored here
safe from the river's flooding. The company continued to operate
with every other day service until 1914. This building, one of the
few left from the steamboat era, burned in 1988. Pee Dee Baptist
Church is visible in the background. |
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Covered Bridge Floods--At 12:20 pm, August 27, 1908, the
covered bridge across the Pee Dee River in Cheraw was swept away by
flood waters. The bridge belonged to the city of Cheraw and
was valued at $20,000. The entrance portion was all that
remained after the flood. There had been an old toll house at
the bridge, also. |
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New Steel Bridge--Soon after the flood of 1908 that
destroyed part of the covered bridge, the citizens of Cheraw began
raising funds to rebuild a much stronger bridge. The longest
such span in the state, 600 feet long, was built of structural steel
trusses. A portion of the old covered bridge remained at the
western entrance. |
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The Iron Bridge--Wooden planks were used as decking on
the road bed of the old steel bridge that was built in 1908 over the
Great Pee Dee River in Cheraw. The bridge was in use for
nearly thirty years. It was referred to as the "Capital to
Capital Route, Columbia, SC to Raleigh, NC." In 1938, another
replacement bridge was under construction. |
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Pee Dee River Bridge--600 feet in length--Jefferson Davis
Highway--Cheraw, SC |
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Nearly Flooded Bridge on the Pee Dee |
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Railroad Bridge Nearly Flooded on the Pee Dee |
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A 40-foot freshet sweeping over the "dam", toll house, and
bridge. (Photo from "Historic Chesterfield County, SC" and the
collection of May MacCallum.) |
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