Shooting the Jasper County Courthouse

Newton is the county seat of Jasper County and this is their courthouse. Decorated for the holidays and located in the town square, it was easy to locate.

The relationship between Newton and Jasper County may be coincidental but, as I read a bit about William Jasper, namesake for the county, there may be a connection.

Evidently, Mason Locke Weems, also known as Parson Weems, wrote a somewhat fictional history of various characters from our revolutionary war. Jasper, real life sergeant in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, was recorded alongside mythical character John Newton at the failed Seige of Savannah in 1779. There appears to be some difference of opinion about Newton's contribution but, thanks to the popular account presented by Weems, his star rose and a number of states have adjacent counties named Newton and Jasper.