Mt. Carmel Historical District
Village of Remembrance
Mount Carmel, located on the northwestern portion of McCormick County, takes visitors on a trip back in time. The Mount Carmel Historic District is a picturesque example of a late 19th century village.
In the early 1880s Mount Carmel turned into a thriving village when the Savannah Valley Railroad passed through it. In February 1885, the town post office was established. Soon after, with the relocation of the Lodiment Reformed Presbyterian Church to town the population increased. An 1894 business directory of the town lists five general stores, a furniture store, druggist, confectionery shop, grocery, carriage maker, two blacksmiths, two gins, shoe shop, four physicians, two hotels, and seven churches. Most of the buildings in Mount Carmel were built during this period of rapid growth from the 1880s to the 1900s.
On July 30, 1896, a significant portion of the village was destroyed by fire. Four residences and twelve businesses were lost. Brick building quickly replaced the framed buildings that were destroyed. On August 4, 1906, the Town of Mount Carmel was incorporated. As time marched on, residents began to move toward more industrial areas in search of jobs. The arrival of the boll weevil in 1921 directly affected this highly rural location. The great depression of the 1930s dealt a final blow to what prosperity remained in Mount Carmel.
Today, Mt. Carmel is home to the oldest business in McCormick County, McAlister and Sons Furniture Store. Mt. Carmel is also the site of Fort Charlotte, now under water, the location where the first overt act of the Revolutionary War took place. Mount Carmel remains today as a reminder of McCormick County's past and hope for tomorrow.
Marker is at the intersection of Main Street (State Highway 81) and State Road 95, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
