 By 1840 the population had reached 600, and in 1850 Yorkville consisted of 93 dwellings and 617 inhabitants.In the years just prior to the Civil War, the town gained a reputation as a summer resort for many Lowcountry planters trying to escape the malarial swamps of the region for the more moderate climate to be found in the Upstate.By 1860, the population of the town had topped 1,300—an increase of more than 125% in only one decade.