From December 1876 to April 1877, both the Republican and Democratic parties in South Carolina claimed to be the legitimate government.

Flat Rock Historic District, Boundary Increase, Boundary Decrease, and Additional Documentation

One of the more dramatic and violent moments in the history of Flat Rock occurred during the Civil War. Beaumont, owned by Andrew Johnstone of Georgetown, SC, was one of the earliest grand homes in Flat Rock and during the final chaotic year of the war, a band of “bushwhackers” descended upon the estate on a warm June day in 1864 - with tragic consequence.

Andrew Johnstone, owner of Annandale Plantation, later renamed Millbrook, was a prominent Georgetown rice planter who annually took his family to cooler climes to escape the heat and mosquitos of the Lowcountry from May to October. He sold Annandale in 1863 and retired to Flat Rock, North Carolina. The following story, reported in Georgetown Times, date unknown, by Louise Bailey brings to light the troubling times of the era even in an idyllic setting