Thomas E. Hart came from Society Hill, about 15 miles north, to purchase nearly 8,000 acres along Black Creek in 1817. Here, Thomas and his wife, Hannah Lide Hart, established a plantation that became known as Kalmia. It is from Thomas Hart that Hartsville's gets its name.
Hart opened a road in 1825 from Kalmia to Society Hill and called it Home Avenue because it took him and Hannah "home" to Society Hill. He opened a country store and post office at Hart's Crossroads. Hart was postmaster, Commissioner of Free Schools, Captain in the South Carolina Militia and a merchant.
With the depression of 1837-38, Captain Hart went bankrupt. Kalmia was sold to his son-in-law, Colonel T.C. Law.
Farming was the principle industry in the early days, but settlers soon found other means of support. Hartsville enjoyed steady growth.
In 1845, 21-year-old John Lide Hart bought 491 acres of virgin pine forest from Colonel Law. He established Hartsville Plantation in what is now downtown.
John and his laborers felled trees and built his home, a carriage factory, a steam-powered sawmill, gristmill, workers' homes, a store, post office, a school and Hartsville Baptist Church (now known as First Baptist).
John Hart's Carriage Factory grew steadily until 1855, when Caleb Coker of Society Hill bought it for his son, James Lide. James came to Hartsville in 1857 to practice the farming methods he'd learned at Harvard College, but the Civil War interrupted his plans.
John Hart moved 15 miles west to Darlington. He was killed in an 1864 Civil War battle in Virginia.
A severely wounded Major James L. Coker returned from the war to find his plantation in ruins. A courageous man, Coker set about to reconstruct the once-prospering township of Hartsville.
Coker's interest in education led him to establish in 1894 the Welsh Neck High School, which later became Coker College. Along with sons James, David and Charles and son-in law Joseph Lawton, Major Coker began a seed company, oil mill, fertilizer plant, J.L. Coker & Company General Store, a bank, and a paper company called Southern novelty Company.
 Failing to interest existing companies in building a railroad spur to Hartsville, the Cokers decided to build their own. The railroad became the means to build the little agricultural town into a thriving community with varied industries and commercial enterprises.
In 1899, the Carolina Fiber Company and Coker's Southern Novelty Company merged to form what is now the internally diversified Sonoco Products Company.
Major Coker completed Hart's vision by laying out the city's streets and lining them with trees, many of which still stand.
With Black Creek now harnessed into two lakes and Interstates 20 and 95 passing through the area, Hartsville is proud and prospering.
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