Boykin Mill

Located eight miles south of Camden is a historic site called Boykin Mill, which consists of a number of historic buildings including an old grist mill, old general store, old post office, a Baptist church, a smoke house, an 18th century house, and three 19th century houses. The site also features a mill pond, canals and gates. Additionally, the last battle of the Civil War in South Carolina—a skirmish called the Battle of Boykin's Mill—occurred here on April 18, 1865. The name Boykin is derived form Samuel Boykin, who bought the pond and surrounding land in the late 18th century. The Boykin family still owns the mill, which still operates today, grinding corn into grits and cornmeal. Two other buildings operate as restaurants, and one building is a store that sells handmade brooms and crafts. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982

People started to settle on to the land surrounding the mill before the American Revolutionary War. Samuel Boykin acquired the property in 1786 from another individual named Robert English. It appears that the property was platted for English, who sold it to Boykin that same year (the property was 420 acres in size). It also seems that the mill pond was built sometime before 1786.

The mill structure that stands today was built around 1905. Boykin did not build the first mill here; he instead deeded a portion of the property to a millwright named Israel Mathis who built the mill by 1792 (he also erected a saw mill). Sadly, Boykin was killed in 1791 by a group of men who had trespassed on his property. Mathis then apparently died the in 1793. Over the course of the next several years, a number of individuals owned the property until it returned to the Boykin family when Burwell Boykin bought it in 1809. The mill was often the site of community gatherings, as families spent time here while they waited for their flour, cornmeal, or lumber to be processed.

On April 17, 1865, Union troops, led by General Edward Potter, occupied the town of Camden. He quickly turned his attention southward after learning that the Confederates moved locomotives and rail cars to Boykin Mill, which was near railroad tracks. He sent his troops south and ordered them to destroy the railroad tracks on the way. Upon arriving at Boykin Mill, they discovered that the Confederates had cut the dam, flooded the road, and took up defensive positions (earthen works and rifle trenches) to block the Union troops from crossing Swift Creek. However, the Union troops outnumbered the Confederates and eventually won. The last Union officer killed during war, Lieutenant Edward Stevens, died in the battle. Stevens was shot by Boykin family member Burwell Henry Boykin, who was just 14 at the time (he turned 15 the next day). Stevens belonged to the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the famed all-Black regiment that attacked Fort Wagner in 1863.

"Boykin Mill." SC Picture Project. Accessed June 10, 2021. https://www.scpictureproject.org/kershaw-county/boykin-mill.html.

Richardson, Katherine H. "Boykin Mill Complex." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. September 10, 1992. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/c4f49e59-432f-4321-8260-4491305e5f4a.