The Town of Estill is located in the southern half of Hampton County. It is the reincarnation of Lawtonville, SC which existed 1-mile to the West. Lawtonville was virtually destroyed during the Civil War as divisions of the Union Army’s 15 Corps travelled from Savannah, Georgia to North Carolina.  After being rebuilt, Lawtonville was destroyed a second time but not by war.  It was destroyed by the commercial vagaries of Capitalism.  

The Town is named for Colonel John Holbrook Estill.  Estill was formed in 1900s when the railroad, later Seaboard Air Lines Railroad, found the need to construct a rail line between Augusta and Savannah, Georgia.

Upon construction of the rail line, the name Lawtonville ceased to exist and was replaced by a new town called Estill, incorporated in 1905.

* Photos by Carl Norton courtesy of Shari Pevey.