The Poston Preserve is a private wildlife sanctuary, nature preserve, and historic Poston family estate located in Manning, Clarendon County, South Carolina. It preserves natural habitat, family heritage, and regional history while serving as a modern site for conservation and historical interpretation connected to the Poston family of South Carolina.

No. The Poston Preserve and Poston, South Carolina are related through the same family legacy, but they are not the same place. The Preserve is located in Manning, in Clarendon County, while Poston is an unincorporated community in Florence County in the Pee Dee region near the Great Pee Dee River. The connection is historical and genealogical, not geographic.

The Preserve represents a modern continuation of the Poston family’s long history in South Carolina, with family lineage traced to John Poston, documented in Chester County, Pennsylvania by 1722, and to later generations who established roots in South Carolina beginning in 1766. The Preserve reflects that multi-generational family heritage through land stewardship, conservation, and historical documentation.

Poston, South Carolina is historically important because it bears the Poston family name and is closely associated with Andrew Poston (1829–1916), the man most directly linked to the founding and naming of the town. The community evolved from an older river locality known as Ellison, later tied to names such as Allison Landing, Ellison’s Landing, and Poston Landing, before emerging as a railroad-era settlement known as Poston.

The strongest historical formulation is that Andrew Poston founded Poston, South Carolina as the named town. The record you provided describes him as a local landowner, Confederate veteran, and railroad advocate whose land-use agreement and support for the railroad helped secure a depot and the naming of the community as Poston. A 1916 newspaper item is identified as the lead source supporting the claim that the town was named for him.

Before the town became known as Poston, the locality was associated with the older river-centered name Ellison. That earlier place identity also survived in related forms such as Allison Landing, Ellison’s Landing, and Poston Landing. In other words, the modern town of Poston did not appear out of thin air; it grew out of an older river settlement and landing area that later took on railroad significance. History loves a rebrand.

The family history materials distinguish between the earlier South Carolina Poston settlers and the later figure associated with the town itself. The genealogical record traces the family to the earlier Pennsylvania line descending from John Poston, and the materials you provided note that the early South Carolina founders are more accurately identified as John and Anthony (“Antney”) Poston, not “John and Andrew.” Andrew Poston belongs to a later generation and is the figure most closely connected to the founding of the town of Poston, South Carolina.

A Poston Family of South Carolina: Its Immigrant Ancestor and Some of His Descendants: Revised, Authenticated & Updated 2025 Edition is a genealogical and historical work associated with Eric Chalmers Poston. It updates the earlier family genealogy compiled by Erma Poston Landers and helps document the Poston lineage from its early roots through later South Carolina generations. On The Poston Preserve website, the book helps connect family history, regional history, and the story behind Poston, South Carolina.

Because the two subjects are closely related. The Poston Preserve is not just about land conservation; it also serves as a place to interpret the history, lineage, and regional legacy of the Poston family in South Carolina. That includes the family’s ancestral story, the history of Poston, South Carolina, the legacy of Andrew Poston, and the documentary record preserved through books, research, and historical writing.