Discover Aiken: City of Aiken began as a railroad town
Sep. 26—The construction of the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad in the 1830s was an unprecedented engineering feat because the 136-mile train route was the longest in the world.
Its builder was the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, and Aiken, a stop along the way, was named in honor of the firm's president, William Aiken.
Two railroad engineers designed the town, which was founded in 1835.
Aiken had streets that ran north and south and avenues that ran east and west. There also were wide parkways planted with trees and shrubs.
Even during its earliest history, Aiken was known as a health resort. Residents of Charleston and South Carolina's coastal plantations visited to escape the summer heat and diseases such as malaria and yellow fever.
To them, the dry, pine-scented air was refreshing.
Late in the 19th century, wealthy families from the Northeast and Midwest began flocking to Aiken, where they established the Winter Colony. While spending the coldest part of the year in their mansions near downtown, they enjoyed participating in equestrian sports such as fox hunting and polo.
