Karen KissiahStaff Writer

With today’s modes of transpor-tation, it’s quite possible someone could ride through Cheraw and never even know it sits on the bank of a river or how significant the Great Pee Dee River was to the development of the town.

However, in late 1700s, Cheraw had such a bustling economy that products from the surrounding area were shipped down river and across the ocean to the far cor-ners of the world. In fact, during that same era, Cheraw was one of only six towns in all of South Carolina actually named on an English map. And in subsequent years, Cheraw was second only to Charleston for having the largest bank in South Carolina. Cheraw’s Merchant Bank was the last bank in the southeast to accept Confed-erate money.

Short tidbits of information like this bring Cheraw’s long and rich history to life in the form of mod-ern technology. The Town of Ch-eraw has invested approximately $13,000 in keeping that history alive by researching, developing and launching a professionally-recorded cell phone tour.

The tour includes 25 sites, each chocked with interesting stories. The tours come complete with brochures and maps and are avail-able at the Greater Cheraw Cham-ber of Commerce or Town Hall for visitors and residents alike.

Many of the facts recorded for each site were researched by David Sides, Cheraw’s director of tourism and community develop-ment. By simply dialing 843-865-3002 you are introduced to the program. Then by direction, you can access the information for any of the sites by dialing the corre-sponding stop number.

Rumors have been surfacing for more than a century now that tun-nels, intended to serve as escape routes or places to hide treasures during the Civil War, ran from the Lafayette House to the river. The research has never shown this to be a fact, but the recorded mes-sage for stop #18 does mention a secret tunnel remains part of local folklore.

Homes surrounded by picket fences may look peaceful and se-rene today, but skirmishes during the Civil War were actually fought in the streets downtown. And by the way, something else you

might learn on the tour, many of the picket fences, built to keep in the family livestock, were pulled up and burned as firewood by northern soldiers.

Next time you’re on the Town Green, you might take a breath of fresh air. But if you’d been there in the late 1700s you would prob-ably be holding your nose and watching your step, as livestock was brought to the town green area to be sold.

As with most older places, ghost stories find a way to weave themselves in and out of history. It’s been told that rocking chairs on the corner of Powe and Greene Street will sometimes move of their own free will.

Robert Smalls School is on the tour. This is where Dizzy Gillespie became the youngest member of the school’s band in 1929. It is said he was given the slide trom-bone as it was the only instrument not already chosen.

Tons of well known and lit-tle known facts are scattered throughout the tour stops and can be enjoyed on location, or even after you get home.

Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011 PAGE 1B

Cellphone tour reveals historic sitesThe Cheraw Chronicle & The ChesTerfield AdverTiser

Your walk through his-tory may begin at any of the 25 tour stops. Dial 843-865-3002 and enter the tour stop number, listed on map or on the sign posted at each destination. You choose what you hear, in your order of preference, any time of the day, any day of the week. The brochure map will assist you in lo-cating each tour stop. While on the tour, dial *0 and share your feed-back. The tour is free, but your cell phone minutes/roaming charges may apply.

1 - Town Green. Once the site of livestock auctions, the Town Green is now home to the statue of na-tive son, Dizzy Gillespie.

2 - Down-town Cheraw B u s i n e s s

District. Twice

suffering total devastation, Cheraw rebuilt to become a bustling regional center for business and culture.

3 - Old St. David’s Church. The last parish established under King George the Third, the church now serves as a fa-vorite venue for brides.

4 - Pee Dee Union Baptist Church. Founded in 1867 by black members of First Baptist, the original church was de-stroyed by “the big blow.”

5 - Riverside Park. Site of a busy upriver port during the 1800’s, Cheraw was known as a major trade and shipping center.

6 - Merchants Bank of South Carolina. One of the of-ficial gold depositories for the Confederate States of America, this was the last bank in the en-tire south to honor Confederate money. The vault is still intact.

7 - First Presbyterian and First United Methodist. Two of Cheraw’s historic churches, each celebrating over 175 years of ministry.

8 - Boxwood Hall, Pegues House, First Baptist, New St.

David’s Church. During Sher-man’s occupation, house-to-house fighting was common in this stretch of Market Street. More of Sherman’s army passed through Cheraw than any other town in South Caro-lina.

9 - Wadsworth House and Original Boundary Markers. Briefly owned by Colonel E.B.C. Cash, a planter and Con-federate officer, most famous for participating in the last fatal duel in South Carolina.

10 - St. Peter’s Catholic Church. The first church on the Charleston Catholic mis-sion, Sherman’s troops left their mark here.

11 - Matheson House. The official Union Army headquar-ters, this home has served as a private school, Masonic Hall, and public library.

12 - John Campbell House. Built around 1820, this was home to US Representative John Campbell.

13 - Dizzy Gillespie Home Site Park. Native son and jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie was born in a home on this site.

14 - Enfield. During the Civil War, this home was the headquarters of General Oliver Howard, second in command to General Sherman.

15 - General Sherman’s Headquarters. In addition to Sherman using this home as his personal headquarters, local legend claims this house is haunted.

16 - The Brown House. A classic upcountry farmhouse, look closely and you may see the rockers on the front porch mysteriously moving.

17 - Wesley United Meth-odist Church. The childhood church of famed jazz artist Dizzy Gillespie, the church was rebuilt in 1915.

18 - Lafayette House. Re-portedly, Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette danced on this home’s roof dur-ing his 1825 visit to the United States.

19 - The Teacherage. This home, said to be the oldest dwelling in the original town’s limits of Cheraw, survived an attempt to burn it.

20 - John Inglis House. The

in-town home of John Inglis, a delegate of the Secession Con-vention. Built around 1800, this structure was known as the “Charleston Box”.

21 - McIver-Malloy House. Moved back from the street in the 1940’s, the original slave cabins remain behind this home built around 1820.

22 - G.W. Long Memorial Presbyterian, Coulter Academy & College Inn. The thriving academy campus occupied much property along both sides of Second Street.

23 - Robert Smalls School. Built to provide a public edu-cation for Cheraw’s black stu-dents, famous jazz artist Dizzy Gillespie attended school here.

24 - The Southern African American Heritage Center & Historic Business District. For generations, African Americans have played a significant part of Cheraw’s history.

25 - Atlantic Coastline Freight Station. Built in 1916 to meet the needs of Cheraw’s bustling cotton market, the building now houses the Ch-eraw Police Department.

Old St. David’s Church

McIver House

Enfield House

The route and stops

Staff Report

The final countdown has started for the 2011 South Carolina Jazz Festival weekend. Committee members have been meeting for nine months to plan for the Oct. 14-16 celebration in Cheraw. This year marks the festival’s sixth year to celebrate jazz and the birthday of Cheraw native, Dizzy Gillespie.

The festival planning committee has included something for all ages: a golf tournament, parade, art, kids’ activities, in-school performances, and of course, lots of jazz at numer-ous venues including Centennial Park, restaurants, Wesley United Methodist Church and the Theatre on the Green.

For the fourth year, the weekend celebration concludes with a Jazz Mass. First Presbyterian Church is hosting this year’s service on Sun-day afternoon at 3 p.m. featuring Market Street Jazz from Greens-boro, N.C., and a Community Jazz Choir. New this year is the Historic Cheraw Cell Phone Tour. Also

Be-Bopping in Cheraw at the S.C. Jazz Festival

Phone Tour will reveal Cheraw’s secretsSpecial to The Chronicle

Haunted houses, racing preachers, and Dizzy’s musi-cal roots may not seem to have much in common, however they are all part of more than 250 years of Cheraw’s intriguing his-tory that will be brought to life this fall.

For more than a year, the Town of Cheraw has been devel-oping The Historic Cheraw Cell Phone Tour with final prepara-tions now being completed for the October launch date. Fund-ing for the $13,000 project was generated by the town’s hospital-ity tax, which had been reserved as matching funds for a govern-ment grant.

Comprised of Cheraw’s 10-block historic area, the compli-mentary self-guided cell phone tour will allow residents and visitors alike to visit the town’s storied past and discover more than 50 significant tidbits of information. This intimate ex-perience, which includes 25 stops at homes, churches, and businesses, many pre-dating 1860, will allow participants to become acquainted with some of Cheraw’s most impressive ar-chitecture and uncover Cheraw’s past like never before.

While larger towns, such as

Boston, New York City, and Washington have had cell phone tours, Cheraw may be one of the first towns in the southeast to boast of such a tour. The town partnered with Dale Davis of Blue Streak Cell Phone Tours to create the unique journey, which features an entertaining studio-recorded narrative. At each tour

stop, a small exterior sign will list a local phone number and appropriate stop number. By dialing the number, the caller will access information about each specific site. Tour map bro-chures, prompting individuals to take advantage of the tour, will be placed at Town Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, the

Lyceum, Old St. David’s Church, and other high traffic areas, in-cluding restaurants, shops, and motels.

While the tour may begin at any of the 25 stops, the Town Green has been designated as the first stop. From downtown,

Lafayette House

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