Colonel William Thomson married Eugenia Russell, daughter of Charles Russell, in 1755. They acquired 400 acres of land on Buckhead Creek, on which Belleville Plantation was developed. Belleville was the first outstanding producer of indigo. During the Revolutionary War, the plantation was seized by the British and fortified. A battle took place when General Thomas Sumter and his troops attacked.

In 1783, Thomson laid out a proposed town here, which lacked only a few votes of being selected state capital of South Carolina. Cotton was planted as a commercial crop at Belleville in 1794, two years before Gaillard planted it at his plantation, The Rocks.

The old cemetery dates back to the Revolutionary War period. Remains of an earth embankment can still be seen around this site. The graves belong to the family of Colonel William Thomson, hero of the American Revolution.