The Graham family was among the first European settlers in Lake City, formerly named Graham's Crossroads. This site, owned by Hugh Graham in the late 1700s, was part of a larger tract on the north side of Lynches Lake, seven-tenths of a mile south, that tradition holds was the family's colonial-era home place. The site has been passed down over the generations and remains with the Graham family today. During the American Revolution, Hugh Graham served in the South Carolina militia and provided supplies to Colonel Francis Marion's brigade and the Continental Army from the family home place. In November 1780, a detachment of Colonel Marion's men carrying British prisoners of war from the Battle of Tearcoat Swamp were provided food and refuge on Graham's property en route to General Henry W. Harrington in Cheraw.