This early nineteenth century grist mill in Sumter was built by Jeremiah Pitts, who came to the area from from Pennsylvania in 1780. He operated a saw mill and a grist mill, the latter of which is seen here. His daughter, Rebecca Matilda Pitts, married Daniel Loring, and the couple moved to Alabama where their son, Lucius Pitts Loring, was born in 1821. Following the death of Daniel Loring later that year, Rebecca and Lucius moved back to South Carolina, where Jeremiah Pitts served in the role of father to Lucius. Following Pitts’ death in 1841, Lucius inherited his grandfather’s property, including the mills. Lucius married Marena Brunson this same year.
While the saw mill is no longer extant, the grist mill still stands along Mush Creek. While a subdivision has grown around the historic mill, many locals, including a group of students, hope to fully restore the grist mill as an educational landmark.
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Hi, my name is Tricia Lee Agan. Our family are descended from the Brunsons and owned this until recently. I have most of the records that we’re stored in the family home. What are you interested in?
Hello, I would like to ask, would you know anything about the Brunson’s Mill and Swamp Pond, owned by Abraham Brunson, Sr., there was a Revolutionary War battle fought in Brunson’s Swamp. This Abraham had a land grant there in 1704 on the south side of the Edisto River, 5.5 miles northeast of Wilson, SC. I am a descendent of this Brunson line. Thank You, William C. Brunson.
Loring Mill Road is where the Brunson and Jackson family lived after the Civil War. Some ancestor family still live there today a few miles from the old grist mill.