Elgin is the third name for this community located in Kershaw County 12 miles east of Camden and close to the Richland County line. As early as 1832, Mr. Jeffers operated the post office out of his home, so the town was known as Jeffers. In the 1840s, the Seaboard Railroad came through the community and soon the town's name changed to Blaney to honor an executive of the railroad company. Finally, the town became Elgin in the 1960s when the Elgin Watch Company opened a plant and for a time, employed over 240 people in the area. The roots for the present-day town of Elgin trace back to 1899-1900 when the Seaboard Coastline Railroad was making its way across the midlands of South Carolina. The tracks came through the southwest corner of Kershaw County and workers were lodged in the first house that was built for them alongside the railroad, in the Blaney community which was called “Jeffers” at the time.The railroad depot was a pivotal source for the evolution of the community. The route came from northern cities to depots in Cheraw, Bethune, Cassatt, Shepherd, Camden, Lugoff and Blaney. As the rails progressed, this area was named “Blaney” for a New York banker by that name that had been instrumental in funding the railroad and was a vice-president of the railroad.
Communities with depots thrived with commerce, mail, freight, and passenger service. Schools, post offices, restaurants, stores, banks and churches were built or enlarged in these economic centers.The Elgin National Watch Company plant was dedicated in March 1963 and more than 200 people had jobs there – the majority of them women. With the new watch company in town, came the need for a municipal water upgrade. The town received an Economic Development grant under the new JFK administration and The Elgin Water Department was formed. The jobs and prosperity the company brought to the community were short-lived, however. In 1966, the company declared a huge loss in sales and it was determined they could no longer compete with foreign manufactured watches. Early in 1967, the company suffered layoffs and by September the bad news of closure was made public. The plant was sold to B.F. Goodrich, a tennis shoe manufacturer. In 1979, Engineered Products Group, producing V-belts, took over the property. In 1986, HBD Industries came to town and set up shop there.
EARLY BLANEY – ELGIN SCHOOLS After the Blaney School burned in 1956, it was replaced by another school in 1958 in the middle of town where Town Hall had been built. In 1972, the high school moved to Lugoff as Lugoff-Elgin High School and middle school students now reported to Wateree Middle School. In 1986, elementary students were now in a new Blaney Elementary School on Smyrna Road in Elgin. Old school buildings, after years of deterioration, were demolished in 2004 and were rezoned as downtown commercial property lots. In 1999, Leslie Stover School opened, accommodating an overgrowth of students from the Smyrna Road school. With the growing population and new school, much needed sewer lines into town were considered. After much consideration, easements were granted in 2005. The new sewer line led to an economic boom for Elgin. In 2008, the new Lugoff-Elgin Middle School was constructed. WHITE POND
Facts tell us that White Pond has been on the map since the 1800s, and serves as a local landmark. This natural pond is said to have sprung up, believed to lack sufficient “in-flow” with no visible inlet or outlet. Legend says it is “bottomless” and in times of drought it is often low or dry. It resides on White Pond Road. President Dwight D. Eisenhower has fished this pond and archaeological teams have visited White Pond for excavations and soil tests to try to discover its heritage.
ELGIN TODAY
Reminders of the old name remain in Blaney Elementary School, Blaney Baptist Church (one of the first churches organized), and Blaney Fire Department.
Town Hall now sits in the heart of town with so much history around its walls. As you cast your eyes around Main Street, you now see grocery stores, restaurants, laundry and cleaners, beauty shops, auto stores and more opportunities than our fore-fathers could have dreamt about.
On January 23, 2008, the Town of Elgin celebrated their Centennial Anniversary, honoring the traditions of culture of the past with a well-fitting theme, “ History and Heritage. ” The Centennial clock in all its glory now resides in the courtyard of Town Hall, “Centennial Park”, a magnificent focal point for Main Street. A mural depicting Blaney-Elgin’s development was painted on the side of the oldest building in town in March 2008.
Through growth, the 2010 latest census population of Elgin is reported as 1,311.