Timmonsville

Front: Timmonsville was founded in 1852 and named for Rev. J. Morgan Timmons. Initial growth was spurred by the Wilmington and Manchester R.R., which carried cotton and forest productions to the port of Wilmington. J.M. Timmons established a turpentine distillery by 1854 and a steam-powered saw mill produced 5,000 feet of plank in that same year. The Timmonsville Tobacco Warehouse Co. organized in 1895, placing Timmonsville at the center of the growing Pee Dee tobacco belt. Reverse: A fire in 1901 burned much of the downtown. Driven by profits from the tobacco industry, the town rebuilt and by 1910 population had doubled. The Atlantic Coast Line R.R., which absorbed the W.M.R.R. in 1898, built a brick depot on Railroad (now Main) St. The Seaboard Air Line R.R. was operating a second line through Timmonsville by 1914, testament to its place as the third largest tobacco market in the state. Leaf factories and warehouses all serviced the industry.