Bank of Barnwell

Front: This building, constructed in 1887 as the Bank of Barnwell, was home to a succession of banks for 116 years. The bank occupied the first floor, and the law offices occupied the second floor, with additions in 1950 and 1961. This was the Bank of Barnwell 1887-1909, Western Carolina Bank 1909-1932, the Bank of Barnwell 1932-1963, State Bank and Trust from 1963 to the late 1970s, then housed several bank branches until First Citizens Bank of S.C. was the last, 1995-2003. Reverse: The law firm of Edgar A. Brown (1888-1975) occupied the second floor for more than sixty years, with later partners since. One partner, Herman Mazursky, was Barnwell’s longest-serving mayor. Brown, one of the powerful politicians in “the Barnwell Ring,” is best known as president pro tem of the S.C. Senate 1942-1972. The City of Barnwell renovated this building in 2008, with city hall on the first floor.