Unforgettable tales of patriotism, rebellion and courage are planted in the pages of American history, and nowhere do the nation’s roots run deeper than in Kershaw County, S.C.

Susan Simpson would have thrived in early America. Simpson is owner of The Broom Place, where she still uses antique machinery to make brooms just as they were made in previous centuries. Her business is located in the historic Boykin district, in a restored settler's home that was constructed around 1740. She dyes her broom straw in bright colors of red, blue, green and yellow, then cuts and soaks the straw so that it becomes flexible. It can then be wrapped in layers around custom-carved...