History

Blairsville - Raineytown Schoolhouse (click link for pic) Located on the left side of the school

Blairsville Schoolhouse Original Marker (click link for pic)

Blairsville Schoolhouse Updated Marker-front (click link for pic)

The building now known as the Blairsville – Raineytown Schoolhouse was built in the late 1800’s to house the Blairsville Academy. The Blairsville Academy had already been established in the Blairsville community, which sits 5 miles on the outside of Sharon on Hwy 49, by the 1830’s. It was an all-white school that served students from first through tenth grade. When Blairsville students were sent to Sharon school in the 1920’s, the Blairsville school building was moved by mule two miles down the road to Raineytown, where it served black students until the 1950’s. The building as served in the 1950’s as St. Luke’s Baptist Church. The building has since been moved two more times, the last time being in 1995 to its new home on the ground of Hickory Grove/Sharon Elementary School.

Old Goldmine (click link for pic) Located behind the Old Schoolhouse

Martin Gold Mine was a lode mine, but had some record size gold nuggets.
Martin Goldmine info

York County: Of the counties mentioned in this section, York County has probably produced the most significant placer gold finds historically. The Martin Mine was the biggest producer, with most of its placer gold recovered from a multi-acre gravel bed resting on clay (false bedrock).
York County Gold Rush

Most of South Carolina's early production was from placer deposits, with the most productive being the Tanyard Pit and Brewer Mine (1.5 miles west of Jefferson). The Martin Mine (1 mile west of Smyrna) has also produced a considerable amount of placer gold. In fact, a gold nugget weighing 27 pounds was recovered in a field just north of this mine in the 1890s.
SC Gold Rush

Bullock's Creek Bridge Roots and Recall