Step back to July 18, 1857, and discover what life was really like in Pickens District through the pages of the Keowee Courier. From deadly railroad construction accidents and heartbreaking local tragedies to the rise of Florence Nightingale and the promise of the Blue Ridge Railroad, this fascinating newspaper captures a community on the brink of enormous change just four years before the Civil War.

Step back to July 18, 1857, and discover what life was really like in Pickens District through the pages of the Keowee Courier. From deadly railroad construction accidents and heartbreaking local tragedies to the rise of Florence Nightingale and the promise of the Blue Ridge Railroad, this fascinating newspaper captures a community on the brink of enormous change just four years before the Civil War.