During visits with his Grandfather during Carolina Summers as a boy. the author remembers his Grandfather talking about the history of South Carolina - the wars, the Cherokee, the old soldiers, the lost towns and the forgotten places. He also remembers his Grandfather writing for local publications. These talks inspired the compilation of his writings. John R, McCravy Sr. was a renaissance man in a real sense. He was a painter, a poet, a musician, a farmer, a state legislator, an auctioneer, a sign maker and a state constable. He was active in his local Masonic Lodge, the Grange, and the Boy Scouts of America. His true love, however, was history. He collected historical artifacts and was first curator of the Pickens County Museum. He was a member of the Old Stone Church Commission. John was a sort of history reference in his own right. By that I mean that people constantly contacted him to find out about local historical questions. He never met a stranger and was a friend to all. His love of history was vented in his articles for local newspapers. He made a point to cut out his articles and paste them in scrapbooks. These scrapbooks were preserved after his passing and are copied here in their original condition...sometimes clear and easy to read and sometimes faded.