Calhoun County Museum
Come and enjoy the history of Calhoun County and South Carolina presented with a personal southern touch.
History of Cameron
History of Cameron, S. C.
By Jeanne Wilde Ulmer (1958; updated 2006)
At the base of the rolling clay hills of Calhoun County, just where the Low Country of South Carolina begins, is the town of Cameron. Through the years, Cameron has gained a reputation of, “being that pretty, little town halfway between Charleston and Columbia, on Highway 176.” A number of years ago a national magazine wrote of being impressed with its wide streets shaded by aging oaks, which create a scene of picturesque serenity. The people of Cameron are aware of their town’s reputation and do everything within their power to maintain it. Thus, Cameron is a well kept community with families interested in education and progress.
Before it was incorporated on July 10, 1896, Cameron was considered a part of Four Holes Community. However, there are families in Cameron today who have lived in this area long before then. These early families of Cameron came to America as German immigrants seeking freedom of religion. In the early 18th Century, these first settlers arrived in Cameron from Germany via Zurich, Switzerland. The book "Lists of Swiss Emigrants in the 18th Century to the American Colonies" gives us a list of these families, some of which have lived in Cameron 223 years. They include: the Rickenbakers, Zimmermans, Kellers, Rasts, Fogles, Whetstones, Dantzlers, Haiglers, Ulmers, Holmans, Kemmerlins, Crooks, Tilleys, and Kings.
Looking at early land grants of the Cameron Section reveals that there are some modern families who have managed to retain the properties received through these grants. One of the earliest grants was given to Captain David Tilley in 1738. This property still remains in the Tilley family today. Where the present Cameron Depot stands today there was once a field of grain rippling in the wind that was a part of a 250 acre land grant to Daniel Kemmerlin in 1780. Other families who have retained their original grants include: the Whetstones, Rasts, Dantzlers, and Zimmermans.
The oldest house within the town limits is owned by Mrs. David K. Summers, descendent of Captain David Tilley. This house was built at the turn of the 18th century by John Jacob Ulmer on a land grant received in 1804 and adjoining property of his father John Frederick Ulmer.
It was in the year 1868 that one of Cameron and Calhoun’s most prominent citizens relocated here. Coming from Cattle Creek Section, Dr. Jacob Washington Summers and his family purchased lands in 1871 lost by George Josh Ulmer. Dr. Summers and his descendants were instrumental in organizing this community into a town. The son of the first Dr. Summers, Dr. Samuel Jacob Summers, was a leader in the fight to organize Calhoun County. He was elected as the County’s first Senator in 1908.
The Cameron area has always been interested in education. In 1866, H. G. Sheridan moved from Colleton to the old Dantzler home in Orangeburg County, now part of Calhoun. The home originally belonged to the family of his wife, Salley Dantzler Sheridan. It was in this same year that Sheridan opened his first school in one room on the S. S. Haigler place. Later, he moved his school to the land of the late Jesse Newton Haigler where a new two story school was built. In this new school, called Washington Academy, there were two rooms on the first story and three above.
Property of Calhoun County Museum Archives.
Not to be used without written consent.