Lancaster History

The Lancaster area was, in its day, literally a Garden of Eden for the Native Americans, including the Cherokee, Catawba and the Waxhaw tribes. The arrival of Scotch-Irish settlers, mostly from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ushered in an era of drastic change. The newcomers named the area for their homelands in England, the region of the famous House of Lancaster that opposed the House of York in the legendary War of the Roses. Today, the citizens of the City of Lancaster proudly claim the red rose, the traditional coat of arms of the House of Lancaster, as their emblem.

In 1759, the Waxhaw Presbyterian Church was established as a center of faith and society. It’s pastor, the Reverend William Richardson organized the Waxhaw Academy were many South Carolina notables were educated. The short list includes: Andrew Jackson, Lancaster native and the seventh president of the United States; Stephen D. Miller, the state’s twenty-fifth governor; and William R. Davie, ambassador to France and founder of the University of North Carolina.

The independent spirit of Lancaster’s Scotch-Irish settlers drew unwelcome attention from the British during the Revolutionary War, and several skirmishes were waged in the immediate area in 1780, including Buford’s Massacre and Hanging Rock.

The Town of Lancaster was founded in 1802 and by 1825, its jail and courthouse were erected. Both were designed by Robert Mills, the renown American architect who studied under Thomas Jefferson and later designed the Washington Monument. During the Civil War, troops under General William Tecumseh Sherman occupied the town on their way to Virginia after the Southern campaign in 1865. Although the Union soldiers burned a number of structures, they were impressed with the town’s hospitality and spared many of the original homes in and around Lancaster, allowing it to maintain much of its original charm.

In the period of recovery following the war, Col. Leroy Springs founded Springs Cotton Mill in 1895, an industrial enterprise that grew to become the “largest textile plant in the world.” Global in scope, Springs Industries shaped the fortunes of Lancaster and its citizens for more than 100 years. The “Springs Block” along Main Street is evidence of Springs’ tremendous influence.

Today, Lancaster’s mills are silent, yet the town retains its character and vitality. Close to the Charlotte, NC, metropolitan area, this quiet, quaint “garden spot of the world” is attracting new visitors, businesses and residents with its allure. Some things never change. Welcome to Lancaster, the Red Rose City