Segars receives Order of Palmetto for decades of historic preservation

Hartsville preservationist William “Bill” Lawton Segars was recently honored at Francis Marion Symposium for mapping hundreds of historic sites and bringing the state’s Revolutionary War story to the roadside.

For years, motorists on South Carolina’s back roads have passed by weathered markers commemorating the battles, graves, and churches of the American Revolution. On Saturday, October 17, the man who set out to find every one of them received the state’s highest civilian honor.

Bill Segars of Hartsville was awarded the Order of the Palmetto at the Francis Marion Symposium in Manning, in recognition of a career devoted to preserving and illuminating South Carolina’s historical landscape.

Segars’ devotion to history began in Kelleytown, just outside of Hartsville, where he grew up on land his family has held since 1820. The property was also occupied by Union troops during the final months of the Civil War.

“Growing up on family land instilled a love and appreciation of history for me at an early age,” Segars said.

That personal connection shaped a career that blended craftsmanship with scholarship. As a general contractor specializing in historic restoration, Segars became widely known for his knowledge of historic churches, architectural details, and landmark structures across the state. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Picture Project, contributing essays, photographs, and research that deepened public understanding of the state’s historic places.

In January 2020, Segars’ longtime friend and colleague Charles Baxley, Chairman of the South Carolina American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission (SC250), gave him an assignment: Go find the state’s Revolutionary War roadside markers.

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History kept a list of 185 such markers, but their locations, conditions, and completeness were uncertain. Baxley believed the markers were critical to telling the local stories that defined South Carolina’s path to independence, and he trusted Segars to lead the effort.

What began as a straightforward search quickly grew. Traveling the state, Segars photographed markers, logged GPS coordinates, and assessed their condition. He found many missing, misplaced, or damaged. Others pointed to nearby graves, battlefields, churches, or monuments that appeared on no official list. Segars responded by widening the project to include any readable public sign with Revolutionary relevance.

The result is a master inventory of more than 651 documented sites: 272 state roadside markers and 379 additional Revolutionary-era signs and monuments, each recorded with verified coordinates, photographs, and condition assessments. It is an achievement completed through years of fieldwork.

As word of the project spread, other historians and volunteers joined in. Guy Wallace, Jim Dunlap, Fritz Hamer, and Brett Bennett contributed fieldwork in different regions, while Segars anchored the effort, particularly in the Pee Dee.

Together, they turned scattered knowledge into a coherent statewide record. Segars’ data became the backbone of the SC250 Marker Map, an interactive tool created by the South Carolina American Revolution Trust. The map lets users view images, read historical context, and get directions to Revolutionary War sites across the state, and it has become an essential resource for historians, educators, students, and travelers.

Segars’ work went beyond cataloging. Many markers had deteriorated or vanished, and others were simply hard to spot from the road. SC250 partnered with the South Carolina Department of Transportation to design and install new brown “Revolutionary War Marker Ahead” signs featuring Sergeant William Jasper, the hero who raised the flag at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island.

SCDOT originally had advance notification signs at only 39 Revolutionary War markers. Thanks to Segars’ mapping and advocacy, that number is projected to exceed 220.

“Markers tend to jump up on the average driver,” Segars has explained, and motorists can miss the chance to read the history they hold. Advance signs alert residents and visitors so they can fully engage with it.

Segars has also helped lead efforts to repair damaged markers, replace missing ones, and work with local groups on restoration. Such work demands negotiation, permitting, and coordination with government agencies as much as historical knowledge, and his background in construction and restoration uniquely equipped him to bridge those worlds.

Though much of his recent work centers on the Revolution, Segars’ contributions reach further. He has written historical essays, co-authored works including Churches in South Carolina Burned During the American Revolution, and mentored preservationists and volunteers.

Friends and colleagues describe him as a generous collaborator with an encyclopedic knowledge of the state’s history, approachable and full of good humor. They say he brings both expertise and heart to every project he touches.

The Order of the Palmetto honors Segars’ demonstration of what one committed individual can accomplish in service of public history. From his roots in Hartsville to his statewide leadership, he has changed how South Carolinians find and understand their Revolutionary War heritage. Hundreds of markers once obscure or neglected are now visible, preserved, and woven into community memory.

Perhaps most importantly, his work ensures that the stories of South Carolina’s Revolutionary patriots remain open not only to scholars but to every traveler who turns down a country road and sees, thanks to Bill Segars, a sign announcing that history lies just ahead.