The Ferguson sawmill was the second largest saw mill in the U.S. in 1904 when this picture was taken. Photo by Marjorie Cross Crump of Eutawville. Ferguson is not on the map today. It existed only 25 years and is now at the bottom of Lake Marion. Founded in 1890 on the banks of the Santee River north of Eutawville by the Santee River Cypress Lumber Company of Chicago, Ferguson was home to 1,000 sawmill workers and their families.

The town was connected to the outside world by steamboats and a railroad spur from Eutawville. Two river steamers, the City of Columbia and the City of Georgetown, stopped at Ferguson with passengers and freight. The CS&N Railroad train from Eutawville stopped at Ferguson everyday at 10:19 with supplies for the sawmill and the town.

All of the homes and buildings in Ferguson had water, sewage, and electricity connections. All workers were paid in gold.

The mill closed in 1914 when the owner went blind. The town died, and its buildings were taken down. In 1941, Lake Marion flooded the old town. Today, while the water is low, the drykiln and a few building foundations can be seen reaching out of the water.

The steamboat City of Columbia stopped at Ferguson as it plied the Santee River between Columbia and Georgetown in 1904. Photo by Marjorie Cross Crump of Eutawville. (Most of this story came from the Holly Hill Observer, October 17, 2007)