Editing Ninety Six, South Carolina (section)

==Etymology==
There is much confusion about the name, "Ninety Six", and the true origin may never be known. Speculation has ranged from the mistaken belief that traders estimated it was {{convert|96|mi}} from here to the nearest [[Cherokee]] settlement of [[Keowee]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Is It Called Ninety Six? Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=30703 |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref> (it was about {{convert|78|mi|disp=sqbr}}); to a counting of creeks crossing the main road leading from [[Lexington, South Carolina]], to Ninety-Six (a legend proved false); to an interpretation of a [[Welsh language|Welsh]] expression, ''nant-sych'', meaning "dry gulch".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-06-18 |title=Ninety Six and Ninety Six National Historic Site |url=https://www.carolinaxroads.com/2023/06/ninety-six-and-ninety-six-national.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |language=en}}</ref> No one is able to confirm that European founder Robert Gouedy was Welsh, English, Scottish,<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of McCormick County |url=https://mccormickscchamber.org/about/about-mccormick-county/history/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=McCormick S.C. Chamber of Commerce |language=en-US}}</ref> or German.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Gowdy Family in South Carolina - Robert Goudy |url=https://www.gowdy.org/robertg.htm |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.gowdy.org}}</ref>

Traders passed on information to each other about landmarks and distances along the [[Cherokee Path]], and sometimes created maps.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ninety Six (Historic site) {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/ninety-six-historic-site |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.ebsco.com |language=en}}</ref> They estimated mileage between streams based on their day's travel. They noted unusual aspects, such as the six creeks that ran unexpectedly south away from the [[Saluda River]] and, further west, nine creeks that ran south away from the [[Savannah River]], noting them on maps as "6" and "9".<ref name=":2" /> One story suggests that a town in this area and a district both became known as "Ninety-Six", likely related to the evolution of traders' references to 9 and 6, the landmark groups of streams. Using historical accounts and [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] maps, historians have traced the Cherokee Path across present-day Greenwood County – territory that at the time was part of other districts.<ref name="george">{{cite journal|title=Ninety Six Decoded: Origins of a Community's Name|last=George|first=David P. Jr|journal=The South Carolina Historical Magazine|volume=92|number=2|date=April 1991|pages=69–84|jstor=27568211 }}</ref>

Another source suggests the numerical reference was to measuring by [[Chain (unit)|chain]], a practice which is traditional in English parishes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surveyor's Chain |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_761634 |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=americanhistory.si.edu}}</ref> Even so, the origin of the name "Ninety-Six" remains a mystery.<ref>{{cite book| last=Guinn| first=Dr. Gilbert| title=Maps for Family and Local History| publisher=Dundurn Press| location=[[Tonawanda, New York]]| edition=2nd revised |author2=Geraldine Beach |author3=Rose Mitchell |page=35 |year=2004}}{{request quotation|date=January 2017}}</ref> Ninety Six has been noted for its [[place names considered unusual|unusual place name]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The most ridiculous town name in each state |url=https://local12.com/news/offbeat/the-most-ridiculous-town-name-in-each-state-ohio-indiana-california-zippia#photo-41 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126150421/https://local12.com/news/offbeat/the-most-ridiculous-town-name-in-each-state-ohio-indiana-california-zippia#photo-41 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |access-date=August 9, 2020 |publisher=WKRC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Babbel.com |last2=GmbH |first2=Lesson Nine |title=The 35 Weirdest American City Names |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-35-weirdest-city-and-town-names-in-the-usa |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en}}</ref>