This is an article about the Camden neighborhood behind the old CHS. The school property is now abandoned and there has been a controversy over development and the running of a thoroughfare thru this neighborhood. Johnny Jaynes always edits these articles and his contributions are in red, so you can see why my SAT verbal scores kept me out of Harvard. B.
I have also saved this as a PDF with a link to it over on the right. (note: the red highlighting referenced above does not carry over to the pasted blockquote, but is viewable in the PDF.)
Boogertown has always been known as the neighborhood of "newlyweds and almost deads.” The official location of Camden's oldest subdivision is:
North of Potlicker,
South of Dusty Bend,
West of Saddle and Paddle, &
East of Cherokee Place.
In 1811, C.J. Shannon came to Camden and taught at the Orphan Academy (which was the early public schools.) After the great fire of 1829, which burned most of Camden, C.J. Shannon bought 30 acres and built The Camden House on Broad Street. The Shannon Field behind his house was drained by a large, man-made ditch which was part of a system of drainage ditches and canals found throughout the county. This Shannon Field is where the CHS marching band started practicing in the 30's.This drainage ditch is now covered by Jordan Street.
Over the years, this acreage was often sold, and many families such as Villepigue, Cantey, Carrison, Jordan, McDowell, and Hirschberger owned various parts of Boogertown. At the turn of the century, this area was a cotton field, and Dr. Bob Davis's house built in 1832 was the manor house. In 1924, the McDowell and the Carrison families began developing lots on Hampton Street with the statement, "Now for sale and on reasonable terms to desirable purchasers. It is not expected to interest persons buying for speculative purposes or persons who contemplate building homes of less than a $5000 value."
In 1926, Dr. Stevenson and N.C.Arnett bought and began developing the area of what are now Jordan and Carrison Streets. Dr. Stevenson is one of the two sources for the origin of the name Boogertown. Dr. Stevenson's favorite baseball player was from Boogertown, Alabama or Arkansas, so he dubbed this neighborhood Boogertown.
Over the decades, this neighborhood has seen its share of colorful characters. There were two gentleman nicknamed for their lower appendages. Footsy Hilton was the county sheriff and Foots Boykin could inhale a cigarette and blow smoke out of his ears. A flamingo dancer once lived where Betsy Greenway now resides and Betsy maintains this legacy. Clarence Mahoney now resides in a house where the only man in America to hold elected positions in two houses in two states lived. Murdock Johnson was both a Senator and a House of Representative member in both N.C. and S.C.
Mrs. Church, whose husband was a diplomat in Italy, lived in three different Boogertown houses. The Bakers had a fabulous Europeon art collection. Hospital directors, judges, doctors, newspaper owners, and mill administrators once called this area home. One of the early residents of my home is the second originator of the two Boogertown names.
In the 30's, one of the Shannon descendents on Saturdays liked to imbibe several adult drinks, and the more he drank, the more he disrobed. By midafternoon, he was inebriated and nude. When he would walk out on the street, the local ladies would tell him to go play in his own backyard. The boorish, drunken, and sometimes spirited behavior of Shannon and some of the other neighborhood drinking buddies must have produced searing hangovers which the polite ladies would explain as bad sinus headaches. Thus, the term Boogertown was coined to explain their husbands’ medicinal absence from church.
Boogertown consists of narrow, tree lined streets with small lots and no sidewalks so the common meeting place is in the street. Because of the dearth of traffic, the streets are filled with mothers pushing carriages, strolling seniors [with and witout dogs], skateboarders, and bicyclers [with and without the colorful Italian apparel].
Because of the tree lined streets and the narrow lot frontage, many people park in the street. I used to park in the street until a fine, currently practicing, local physician knocked one of my cars 25' into the next yard.
To address the "MAINTAIN BOOGERTOWN'' stickers, and the recent controversy concerning the development of the school property, there are two issues for us 'boogers.' First, the residents of Boogertown did not want the proposed thoroughfare. With narrow streets and no sidewalks, we do not need more traffic, but then also neither does Kirkover Hills, Sunnyhill, or Gettysburg. Ask the residents of Hermitage Village how they like the new thoroughfare. Many villagers will not let their kids play in their front yards. We want to see the school property developed. If the city administration would have approved the original plan of the developers, then all concerned would be happier. With a little bit of better leadership and foresight by the city elders, there would not have been any controversy.
Secondly, we Boogers never had an opportunity to enter into any dialogue with the city administration, committees, or elected officials. According to city code and the constitution of the great state of South Carolina, we should have had a place at the table, even if it was at a private dining room in a restaurant. If the city manager, who is paid with our tax dollars, meets with developers then we should, as well as you, if you live in an adjoining neighborhood, have the right to express our concerns.There is also something in the U.S. Constitution concerning individual citizens’ rights.
The residents of Boogertown have been good, tax paying neighbors for over 80 years. We have worked hard not to let our property values decline, so we should have been recognized, and we will be heard. If you lived here, you would also. There is no government body (federal, state, or local) whose decisions are mistake free or whose intentions are ''as pure as the driven snow."
Thank you for your attention.
