| The Williamsburg County town of Gourdin (SC 375 and SC 377) on the Santee River was settled prior to 1744 and named for the Peter Gourdin family, early French Huguenots in the area. Gourdin's Depot was named for Captain Theodore Gourdin, who gave the land for the Northwestern Railroad to pass through this Santee area. The train was called Swamp Rabbit because of its many stops and starts. Virginia Gourdin, representing Charleston County, was one of the first women to be elected to the state legislature. The name is also spelled with an e (Gourdine) by some black families and pronounced guh-DEEN. TAKEN FROM: Neuffer, Claude and Irene. 1983. Correct MISPRONUNCIATIONS of Some South Carolina Names. University of South Carolina Press. p.74. EXCERPT: Gourdin-Gourdine Quarterly Newsletter |