John Ashton Hester

News Around Westminster (1888-1909) John Ashton Hester

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Keowee Courier always had a Westminster correspondent who would write a column each week reporting the goings-on in the town. This book contains selected items from those columns during the years 1888-1909. The reader can follow the development of the town, as wooden buildings gave way to brick buildings, horse-or-mule-drawn wagons and buggies gave way to automobiles--the first of which drove through town in 1902, stores began using gasoline engines to generate electric lighting, and industrial development included a shuttle and bobbin factory, a cotton mill, and a knitting mill. The school and churches were centers of activities. The economy largely depended on the cotton crop. Too much or too little rain could be devastating. Too much cotton on the market brought a lower price. Fortunately, the boll weevil had not yet arrived. . . This book will give the reader insight into what day-to-day life was like in Westminster during the town's early years.