Purrysburg Township (Purrysburgh) is an unincorporated community in Jasper County, in the lower part of South Carolina. Today, not much is in this area except for a stone monument marking an early Swiss settlement that eventually failed.
Jasper County has seen its fair share of war through the years. From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, many haunted legends exist. But, Purrysburg predates both wars, and it was first established in 1734 by the Township Act of 1730. The township grew quickly, and two years later, 450 settlers had settled there. But diseases like Malaria and other unhealthy conditions took their toll on the early inhabitants. The ones who survived moved to surrounding areas and into places like Savannah. Purrysburg would see new life almost 40 years after its first settlement, when, in 1779, it became the site of the Battle of Purrysburg during the Revolutionary War.
It remains unclear how many settlers and soldiers died in that general area, but legend says many ghosts continue to haunt those grounds because of all the untimely deaths.
Written By John G. Clark Jr.
