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"...that he is the identical Nathan Kemp who was a private with [the] Company commanded by Jack Griffin in the Regiment commanded by Col. Taylor. ...that he volunteered in Pendleton County, South Carolina on or about the day of [blank space] about the year 1793 in the ___?___ between the United States and the Cherokee Indians and remained in active service until the treaty was concluded which was about two months and was honorably discharged at Occonee Station in the state of South Carolina on or about the [blank space] day of the [blank space] 1793 as will appear by the muster rolls of said Company. ....He further declared that he is the identical Nathan Kemp who was [blank space] in the Company of Rangers or Spies commanded by Captain John Grayson in the war of the United States with the Creek Indians in the Regiment commanded by [blank space]. ...that he volunteered in Madison County, State of Alabama about the [blank space] day of April 1813, and continued in active service....the said was for the term of six months and [he] was honorably discharged in said County on or about the [blank space] day of October 1813, which will appear by the muster rolls of said Company [my emphasis]...." |
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| Oconee Station Park is located in a lush, quiet area. My first view of the ancient block house was rather breathtaking knowing that our ancestor Nathan had walked the same steps 200 years prior. A nearby plaque there states: 'The stone structure on this site was probably built about 1792 as part of the fortification known as Oconee Station...one of seven outposts authorized by the General Assembly of South Carolina to provide security on the frontier from the Indian tribes to the west...." | ||||
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| "...Militia units as large as thirty soldiers and scouts manned the station until about 1799...." It was during this same frontier period that the 1794 Kemp Family massacre at the hands of the Indians occurred on the grounds of the Sally Reed Graveyard, near modern-day Belton, SC. One wonders exactly how these Kemps were related to the family and how our Nathan and family was affected. | ||||
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| It was a wonderful pilgrimage to sit in the doorway (despite the carpenter bees) and on the porch where Nathan might have reclined off duty, and to touch the large block stones of the two-foot thick walls. The nearby trail leading to the falls was long and wound around the lake before crossing the highway I had come in on. | ||||
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| There are some written materials available within the park including an informative brochure and this display featuring first-person quotes from the early period. If you wish to experience the lush, cool breezes of the waterworks, I suggest the pull-in about 100 yards down the highway from the park entrance. From there its a moderate one mile hike. | ||||
