History as told by JW Martin Jr.

Foreword: Mary and I moved to McBee in the spring of 1953, and with John S. McLeod started Mar-Mac Manufacturing Company in the corner building (formerly a drug store) at the intersection of Highway 151 and Sixth Street. We occupied this building until 1956 when we built a building at the corner of Tenth Street and Highway No. 1. Later in the 1950's or early sixties I was asked to write a history of McBee. In making this attempt I talked to a number of the older residents of McBee among whom were Mr. C.D. Sowell, Mr. Charlie Horton, Mr. "Make" Morgan, Mr. "Ches" Tiller, Mr. "Duck" Sexton, and others. I was unable to talk to Mr. Alec McPherson, the oldest resident and a long time surveyor whose input would have been valuable. I do not remember who asked me to do this history, or for what purpose, and I am unable to find a copy of it now. The following will be from my recollection of these interviews, conversations with a new generation of "old men", of whom I am one, and recollections of my experiences in McBee after 1953.

The first settlement as a forerunner of McBee was near Cedar Creek on the original "two notch" trail. Part of this trail is now Two Notch Road north out of Columbia. Mr. Ches Tiller told me that he could show me an old pine tree near Cedar Creek with the two notches still evident. Unfortunately we never made this visit. [John S. McLeod says that the McBee Presbyterian Church has, from the estate of Margaret Horton, a ledger of accounts from a commissary in this community. The ledger indicates the name of the community was McRay, SC and mail was distributed from the commissary. There are entries in the ledger dated in the late 1890's.] The community eventually moved, or another community was formed, at the old wire road, a trail cut for the first telegraph lines to pass through the area. After the railroad came through about 1900 the community moved to be adjacent to the railroad and the road that later became U.S. Highway No. 1. The center of the community was originally several blocks south of its current center along Highway 151.

The Seaboard railway station was named for a Mr. McBee, an official of the railroad when it came through. This station was located at the crest of a ridge which is reported to be the highest elevation on the Seaboard railroad between Jacksonville, Florida, and Richmond, VA. The reason for locating stations at the crest of a ridge was to be able to restart the train with a downhill advantage after a stop at the station.

McBee is laid out in a one mile square with 420 feet blocks divided into sixteen lots with a 20 foot alley through each block. The street rights-of-way are 70 feet wide to allow for a paved street with curb and gutter and sidewalks. The north-south streets are numbered one through eleven and the east-west avenues are named for trees such at Oak, Pine, etc. The town was laid out in this orderly manner by the Chesterfield Land Development Company, a Virginia corporation. The intent of this company was to establish a resort similar to those at Pinehurst and Southern Pines in North Carolina. When the depression of the thirties hit the corporation was dissolved and the land abandoned. The property was taken over by the Chesterfield County Forfeited Land Commission for non-payment of taxes and was eventually sold at tax auctions. Much of it was bought for very small sums of money.

When the Seaboard Railroad came through it seems there already was a small railway company, the CMC Railway in operation that ran between McBee and Jefferson. Another railroad company, the Western Carolina, operated between McBee and Poston in Florence County and between McBee and Sumter. These lines were incorporated into the Seaboard system and McBee became a significant railroad junction. As such the railroad employed a lot of local people as station agents, train crews and maintenance crews. A substantial amount of switching yard and side trackage were built in McBee to handle the freight traffic in and out. Trains were the principal form of transportation and brought into McBee carloads of coal, fertilizer and other farm supplies. They carried out cotton, peaches, and wood products. (At one time the Tanner Winery imported brandy from California to fortify the wines they produced near Patrick. The brandy was transferred from the tank cars to tank trucks, there was always some spillage, so from the odor it was obvious when the brandy car was in.)

Prior to 1900 Chesterfield County was heavily forested with old growth longleaf pine. The large diameter of these trees, the straight grain, and the resistance to weather made the wood desirable for wood shingles and shakes. Prior to the coming of the railroad these products were something of a cottage industry. The trees were felled by ax, cut to length with a crosscut saw, and the shingles split out with a shingle hatchet. After the railroad came through a much greater market was created, and a number of shingle mills were established along the railroad and sawmills throughout the area. The shingle trade and the lumber industry eventually cleared almost all of the long leaf pine from the area.

The cleared, sandy land was not very good for row crop farming, but there still were many small farms throughout the area. These farmers, the railroads, and the timber industries provided a good market for the merchants in McBee and it was a thriving town with doctors, dentist, drug stores, and other needed services. When the depression hit the people on many of these farms were unable to make a living. The federal government bought up some ninety three thousand acres of this cutover, submarginal land, relocated the occupants, and made the land into a state forest and wildlife refuge. This had two effects. One was to remove a large group of people who had shopped in McBee, the other was to isolate McBee from the rest of Chesterfield County. This isolation had far reaching, detrimental effects into the local school systems and other county provided services.

With the loss of so many farmers, the demise of the timber industry, and the consequent decline in the local railroad operations McBee was not the thriving "metropolis" that it had been. However, in the spring of 1953 McBee still had a respectable business district. Between Highway 1 and the railroad. On the south side of "Main Street", Highway 151, were Charles and Doris Curtis' drug store, Jack Seegars' grocery, Wallace Mozingo's barber shop, the post office, Ivey Harmon's grocery/hardware store, C.D. Sowell's farm supply/grocery store, and the first efforts of Mar-Mac Manufacturing Company. Across the street starting next to the railroad passenger station were John King's grocery, Grady Seegars' grocery, a hardware store later owned by Ed Sullivan, a pool room, Ed Sullivan's liquor store, and Luke Jones' dry cleaners. On the northwest corner of the intersection of highways 151 and No. 1 were Sexton's Ford dealership, repair garage, and Esso station, on the northeast corner was a dwelling that sat on ground three or four feet higher than the road, on the south east corner was John Rowland's Texaco station, and on the southwest corner was Earl Smith's Puroil station. A block north on No. 1 Tommy Seegars ran a Shell station and a restaurant. A few blocks south on No. 1 Harold McCoy ran a small grocery and service station. A brick building hotel on Sixth Street (where the rescue squad/fire station building is now) was operated by Jeff Gardner.

Before the depression of the 1930's McBee had borrowed money to install a water system with a well, a tank, and small diameter distribution pipe to serve the downtown and some of the residential areas. The town had accumulated enough money to pay off the loan, but because they were receiving good interest at the bank had chosen to leave the money in savings, and simply make the payments as they came due. Unfortunately, the depression hit, the banks closed, the town lost all its money, defaulted on the loan and was forced into bankruptcy. Consequently the street lights were turned off and the water supply was the only service maintained. There had been no systematic collection of water fees. Much of the property in town was in default for non-payment of property taxes, and there had been little effort to collect. After the depression many people simply had no money with which to pay taxes.

John Rowland was mayor of McBee for several years and was followed by John S. McLeod who served one one year term in about 1956-57. Mayor Rowland and Mayor McLeod had established some order to the record keeping and the effort to collect some of the back taxes. John W. (Dub) Martin, Jr. was elected mayor in about 1957 following John McLeod and served for eighteen years.

The mayor and town council served without pay for several years and instituted mandatory payment of water fees and began further efforts to collect back taxes. Gradually the town began to get a little money ahead, making it possible to add some town services. During the years a compacting garbage truck was purchased, and regular garbage pickup was instituted. Street lights were added downtown and gradually extended to most of the city limits. A new fire truck and equipment was bought and a firefighters training school was conducted. A cemetery commission was appointed and the municipal cemetery was cleared and surveyed. Individual lots were marked and registered to owners, and fees and regulations were established for the opening of graves. An industrial development corporation was formed and this organization was instrumental in attracting industry to McBee.

After World War II almost all southern rural towns and villages were in somewhat the same situation as McBee, and there were concerted efforts to get industry to locate in these towns. In McBee Mar-Mac Manufacturing was the first non-farm or associated payroll in town, then through local efforts a building was built for and McBee Manufacturing Company came to town. Versch Lock was established in the mid-sixties, and in 1968, with intense competition, McBee was successful in getting Mafco Textured Fibres to build just north of town. This company employed over 1,000 people and was the largest employer in the county. Now, with an employment base of some twelve or thirteen hundred people it was expected that McBee would bloom. The South Carolina Development Board had projections that said for every person employed in industry several other service jobs would be created. With the location of such a large industry in so small a community the Board believed it had an ideal situation to test its theories. Through sales tax and other records they compiled economic statistics for the two years preceding the construction of the Mafco plant, the year and a half of construction, and began to keep records of the retail business as the plant reached full employment. After two years it had become evident that business in McBee was on a steady decline and the study was discontinued. Subsequent analysis showed that the management and executive personnel brought in by Mafco were unwilling to locate in so small a place as McBee and had located in neighboring larger towns - Hartsville, Darlington, and Camden. The Kellytown community at Hartsville was originally occupied primarily by Mafco people. Another result of the industrial employment was that as local people achieved larger incomes they were inclined to drive to the larger stores in the neighboring towns to do their shopping. Consequently, the retail business in McBee virtually dried up and the stores closed.

The textured fibers business (stretch fabrics) died, and Mafco closed in 1978 after ten years of operation. The building sat empty for over a year then was bought by A.O. Smith water heater company. This company has located both its domestic and commercial water heater manufacturing operation here and continues to employ in excess of 1,000 people. John McLeod and J. W. Martin, Jr., started Mar-Mac Manufacturing Company in1953. This company grew until 1990 when it was split into two companies. One retained the original name and the other took the name Mar-Mac Wire, Inc. Advance Printing Products was established in 1988 and employs 40 to 50 people at its McBee location. Talley Metals is located about five miles east of McBee. This company, established in 1984, produces stainless steel and employs about three hundred people. McLeod Farms, Inc. (Campbell and Kemp McLeod) operates extensive peach orchards, and produces strawberries and small grains. Arrowhead Farms, Inc. (H.R. McLeod) is a principal supplier of seed products. These companies continue to be strong and viable employers for some seventeen hundred people from Chesterfield and surrounding counties. At this time McBee has a population of about four hundred people. -- JW Martin, Jr.