Editor’s Note: At the request of his readers and in memory of Warner M. Montgomery, Ph. D, we will continue to publish his Adventure Travel stories for the time being.
In 1860, Dr. Peter G. Gourdin II owned Richmond Plantation, a home in Pineville with 32 slaves, $6,700 in real estate, and $29,000 in personal property. By the time of his death in 1876, all he had left was $1,584 in cash. The Civil War and Reconstruction had decimated his fortune.
Dr. Gourdin’s sons— Clarence (1863-1947), J.K. III (1865-1937), and Charles (1875-1958)— along with their brothers-in-law, Robert Marion (1862-1920) and Edward Marion (1861-1943), worked their entire lives to regain their father’s wealth and bring Pineville back to its former glory. They almost succeeded.
Activities of the Gourdin brothers are detailed in the Gourdin family papers published by Peter G. Gourdin IV. These records reveal how they bought and sold land, leased land for hunting rights, and sold timber rights.
J.K. Gourdin began the family acquisition in 1888 when he gave a personal note for four acres in Pineville. A year later he purchased 115 acres along the Murray’s Ferry Road for $14 at a sheriff’s sale. Soon he was selling the land for a profit.
In 1896, J.K. bought 746 acres for $100 from a black family who received the land during Reconstruction. He gained another 500 acres a year later. In 1900, he and J.K. turned their attention to Murrell’s and Buck Hall Plantations and soon owned 600 acres of the former and 2,100 acres of the latter. They leased 3,765 of these acres for timber rights. In 1906, they leased the hunting rights on 9,500 acres of their property for $6,000.
Clarence, in 1897, purchased 20 acres in Pineville for $8.95 at a sheriff’s sale. The land had been owned by a black man who couldn’t pay the taxes. Within two years, he increased his property by 1,152 acres, which included land on the Santee Canal, the Lifeland Plantation, and Pineville Academy property.
The Santee Canal, defunct since 1855, was surrounded by Mexico and Belle Isle Plantations. Mexico had been owned by the Porchers and Belle Isle by the Marions prior to the Civil War. Both plantations had been carved up and redistributed during Reconstruction. By 1903, Clarence Gourdin had purchased over 800 acres of Mexico along the canal. J.K. bought 2,394 acres of Belle Isle from the City of Georgetown for $6,000, which he mortgaged.
The Pineville Academy, established in 1805, owned land that reverted to it when the owner died without heirs (escheated). The academy land grew to over 600 acres before the Civil War. Ownership of the land was dispersed during Reconstruction. By 1902, Clarence and J.K. Gourdin had purchased virtually all the academy land.
Clarence Gourdin married Henrietta Palmer of Pineville, the sister of J.K.’s first wife, Mary Palmer.
Family legend describes Clarence as a “diamond in the rough.” He never owned a pair of shoes until he was 18 and sold a rabbit he had killed to buy them. When he was a young man, Clarence accidently shot and killed his younger brother, Robert. He never let his children own guns.
Clarence never owned an automobile and walked everywhere, including the eight miles to St. Stephen to get a haircut every month. Later in life, he acquiesced to riding in a two-wheeled oxcart he built.
J.K. Gourdin was the exact opposite of his big brother. He was an accomplished horseman and loved the lancing tournaments. His method of deer hunting was to ride them down on his horse and shoot them at close range with his double barreled Parker shotgun. J.K. embraced modern technology and bought one of the first Model T Fords in Berkeley County, eventually owning three.
By 1910, Clarence and J.K. purchased 6,313 acres of land in Clark’s Hill, Poplar Hill, Whilden, Cherry Grove, Murrell’s, and Rhodo Plantations. Most of this land was dedicated to cotton either farmed by their own hand or by sharecroppers. Additionally, they sold timber rights on the property and sold off 616 acres, gaining capital to invest in new land.
To maximize cotton profits in the area, Edward Marion operated a cotton gin as did J.K. and Clarence Gourdin. Edward also owned a grist mill, which produced corn for livestock and grits for local customers. The Gourdin gin was powered by a steam engine and could produce a bale of cotton every 15 minutes. They ran a sawmill by the same steam engine. Charles Gourdin ran the major general store on Highway 45, the Old River Road. There was peace and prosperity in Pineville.
Note: Peter Gaillard Gourdin IV, author of The Family, Southern Historical Press, 1980, was born in 1923 and lives today in Kingstree, S.C. He graduated from Porter Military Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and attended The University of the South (Sewanee), and USC. He is a farmer and was for many years director of the Senior Employment Program in Williamsburg County.
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