Instructor: Dr. Andy Dyer is a retired biology professor at USCA. He has published two general science books: one on pesticide resistance and agriculture (Chasing the Red Queen, 2014) and the second on the microbiome (Eaters Digest, 2022). His interest in life-history patterns led him to study cemeteries, death certificates and old documents to better understand the people, places and things in Aiken County over the past 200 years. Description: Aiken has a well-known reputation for being a playground for wealthy northerners from the late 1800s on, but this didn’t begin until the 1880s. After the Civil War, the Aiken City Council minutes were less focused on play and more focused on infrastructure as the Council continued to build a small southern town with a small budget but big plans. This talk will present a look at the interesting, quirky, and sometimes odd business of the early days of Aiken. Session 1: 1842-1864 Session 2: 1878-1900