Estill – pronounced ES • tull – is located in southwestern Hampton County where SC 3 and US 321 meet. It was predated by a community named Lawtonville, which was located about a mile to the west.
Devastated by the Civil War and the poverty it wrought, and particularly by the physical destruction caused by Sherman’s army, the community had begun to die. In the the early twentieth century, however, what is today known as Southbound Railroad decided to construct tracks through the area, connecting Savannah to Columbia. (Today the tracks are owned by Seaboard Air Lines.) The “new” town incorporated in 1905 under the name Estill to honor Colonel John Holbrook Estill, editor of the Savannah Morning News and director of Southbound Holdings Company.
Estill remains a small community of roughly 2,000 residents. It is home to the Federal Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison for males.
The picture above was taken by Thomas T. Faucette in the 1940s. SCIWAY thanks his son – and frequent contributor – Steven Faucette of Williamston for submitting this photo.
My home town! So many great childhood memories!
The Federal Prison is located on acreage that once belonged to my great, great, great grandfather, George Rhodes, a signer of the Order of Seccession. Of course, the big house was burned by Sherman’s men, and no one knows precisely where it stood or what it looked like. My family has lived in the Lawtonville/Estill community for many generations. I live in the house where I and my siblings were raised, which was a part of the Rhodes Plantation.
I grew up in Estill. While I haven’t lived there in over 40 years, it is still home!
I grew up ever summer there I just want to see the town again. It’s been 30 years; I’ve always been there with grandma. Katie Bell Phillips