“The Sundial”
The oldest known device for the measurement of time,
a sundial indicates time by the position of the shadow
of a gnomon cast by the sun on the face of a dial
marked in hours. The gnonon is a flat piece of metal in
the center of the dial with its back pointing towards the
north pole when in the northern hemisphere and facing
due south and with the upper edge slanting at an angle
equal to the latitude of the location of the sundial.
Obtained from Mr.D.B. Haselton, Ironmonger, of
Charleston, S.C. this sundial was presented to the
citizens of Barnwell in September, 1858, by Joseph
Duncan Allen ( 1812-1880 ) benefactor and philanthropist
of Barnwell, who served in the Florida Seminole Indian
War, Mexican War and Confederate Army, S.C. House of
Representives and S.C. Senate.
Atop the sundial, a cannonball rests which was used in
the Confederate War.
Although the adjacent courthouse was destroyed by fire
in 1865, the sundial survived and is in its original
location. In 1918, a concrete curbing was added as a
protection against traffic hazards. The sundial was
repainted, additional concrete reinforcement was added
at the base and after much research, this plaque was
designed and installed on June 3, 1986.
Marker is on Main Street ( SC-70, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
