Every church in Laurens County is asked to ring its bell on June 28, between 3:45 and 4 p.m.
Think about it like a line from the Peter, Paul and Mary song, “If I Had a Hammer”:
“It’s the Bell of Freedom.”
It will be Carolina Day, a commemoration of South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution as the Colonists defeated the British Navy, and it is especially relevant this year, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
Laurens County has been planning for 5 years for this moment.
The Laurens County 250 Committee was formed by volunteers to mark the anniversary and was designated by the Laurens County Council as the official planning body for local observances. Since its founding, the committee has planned programs and has acquired some battlefield sites and land at other sites for parking areas - Laurens County was home to the famed Little River Regiment and two Revolutionary War generals.
“Laurens County is leading the way in the state,” historian Durant Ashmore said at a meeting on April 21 unveiling plans for the huge Carolina Day, Sunday afternoon celebration in Laurens (flyer below).
After a service at Laurens First Baptist Church and a marker dedication on The Square in downtown Laurens, focus moves about 5 p.m. to the Laurens County Museum.
There, a ribbon-cutting will unveil a major exhibit that takes up about a quarter of the Museum’s main hall, and highlights 14 battle sites that are within easy driving distance of the county seat. There will be an interactive display for those who cannot come to the Museum, but organizers hope that everyone -- especially school children - will take advantage of this chance to learn our country’s rich heritage. The display starts with Native Americans and carries through the post-Revolution birth of a nation.
Even though the main service and bell-ringing will happen at First Baptist, “if churches want to perform their own service, we certainly understand,” said Laurens County 250 Chairman Ernie Segars, a former Laurens County administrator. The June 28 event is designed as a “lead-in” to whatever the City of Laurens does for this year’s July 4th Independence celebration.
“This will align us in the right way to celebrate July 4th,” Segars said.
The 250 Committee has set up kiosks around the county telling our Revolutionary War story. The one by The Depot in Uptown Clinton describes what happened at Musgrove Mill, Hayes Station, and Hammond’s Old Store, and historical figure Dicey Langston.
The committee also has an established driving tour and bicycling tour of important sites; brochures for these are available at the Chamber’s visitor’s center (behind the hospital) and at the Laurens County Museum.
“I cannot over-state the significance of Laurens County in the Revolutionary War,” said Ashmore, who has given many well-attended lectures about that era’s history in Laurens and throughout the Upstate.
More: https://www.laurenscounty250.com
