The present day site of Blacksburg, SC was first settled by a man by the name of Stark. Mr. Stark who had lived in Charleston, SC prior to moving to the area, had gotten several people to come along with him on an agriculture venture, but this venture would fail. Those who stayed behind named the area Stark's Folly.

Around the late 1800's the Black family, headed by John G. Black, a Confederate veteran, were living in the area and persuaded the C.C. & C. Railroad Company to lay track through the town and a depot was built. The town soon became known as Black's Station in honor of John G. Black and was renamed Blacksburg in 1888.

Major John F. Jones of Massachusetts came to live in Blacksburg to be superintendent of the C. C. & C. railroad. He gave of his own personal money to have a school, hotel (The Cherokee Inn), and several other buildings constructed in Blacksburg. He lived in Blacksburg until 1922, when he was appointed the SC Internal Revenue Collector by the President of the United States. He died in 1939 at the age of 92 in his home state, Massachussets.

In the 1890's large amounts of iron were found in the area and many people hoping to make a fortune from mining the mineral flocked to the town. Blacksburg became a boom town and hotels and saloons were built for the new visitors. The town went by the name Iron City for a short time. Because of the "iron rush" the town became quite wealthy and the fist electric street lights in the upstate of S.C. were installed in Blacksburg. The city was incorporated in 1888 as "Blacksburg" but still holds its nickname "Iron City" to this day.

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Information gathered during research in Cherokee and York County Libraries, and from reading The Old Iron Distirct a book by Dr. Bobby G. Moss, The Gaffney Ledger, Blacksburg Times, and Yorkville Enquirer.

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To see historical photos click the link below:
Blacksburg: The Past in Pictures

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