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"B' is for Branchville

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"B' is for Branchville [Orangeburg County; population 1,083]. Incorporated in 1858, Branchville is known as Orangeburg County’s “railroad town” because of its recognition as the oldest railroad junction in the world. The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company completed its track to Branchville from Charleston in 1832. From this place, the railroad would later branch off to serve Columbia. This was not the first time that travellers had to choose a route at Branchville. A Native American trail forked here. One path led to Orangeburg and the other headed towards Augusta. The first European settlers arrived in 1734 and settled at the fork in the Indian trail. For more than a century, railroad passenger service was the town’s economic stimulus. Passenger service was discontinued in 1962 and, since then, Branchville’s economy has been mainly dependent on agriculture.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.