Barker's Mill

Front: Barker’s Mill, which stood here on Jackson Branch, was a grist mill owned by William Ransome Barker (1816-1869), a planter in what was then Barnwell District. Barker moved to this area in the 1850s, built a house about 2 mi. N, and established a cotton plantation of 2,000-3,000 acres which he named “Sycamore.” The town of Sycamore, chartered in 1891, was named for the plantation. Reverse: On February 2, 1865, at Gen. W.T. Sherman’s Federals advanced toward Columbia, units of Gen. F.P. Blair’s XVII Corps clashed with Confederate cavalry at the bridge over Jackson Branch. The Confederates retreated across the bridge, but the Federals did not cross until reinforced after dark. A Confederate withdrawal then opened the way for a Federal advance to Buford’s and Rivers Bridges.