As early as 1765, the site 6 miles northwest, known to the Indians as Yellow Water where the Keowee Path crossed the Cherokee line, was called DeWitt's Corner. In 1777, a treaty between South Carolina and the Cherokee Indians was signed there. The present town was first called Due West Corner. Here in 1839, Erskine College, the state's first 4-year church college, was founded by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.