Darlington

Though economically little Darlington has been largely subsumed within Florence [1]’s sprawl, it still stubbornly retains its own quirky personality. The Darlington Guards infantry were among the first soldiers to volunteer for service in the Civil War, and for the Spanish-American War 40 years later.

Legend has it that Darlington was spared Sherman’s torch because the officer sent to carry out the deed was an architect in civilian life. Seeing a house he’d designed there, he allegedly called the whole thing off.

Though Darlington’s cash crop was tobacco for most of the 20th century, cotton has always been part of the local DNA. Plenty of cotton fields still abound in the surrounding area. Its biggest event, though, is the Sweet Potato Festival (Public Square downtown, www.visitdarlingtoncounty.org [2], free) each October.