W.J. Megginson was born in Calhoun, SC, the son of William James and Ina S. Megginson. W.J. Megginson received his undergraduate degree from Mississippi College with a major in history and minors in economics and English. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from George Washington University.

The land that would eventually develop into the town of Calhoun, SC was first purchased by James W. Crawford in 1844. He owned it until 1884, when Aaron Boggs purchased the portion of land adjacent to the Fort Hill Plantation.

Mr. Crawford died in 1888. The remainder of the land was bought by Nelson C. Poe, his son-in-law, in January 1889. Mr. Poe then sold half of this purchase to his brother-in-law David Sloan.

In 1891, Poe and Sloan sold the sixty and one-half acres north of the railroad tracks to Aaron Boggs. In 1892, Boggs had the land surveyed and laid out with streets. There was a final tract of land belonging to Macrina Campbell which was located in the eastern part of what is now Clemson along Highway 123. This land stretched from Cochran Road to the local Ramada Inn.

The area that would become Calhoun stretched one-half mile around the Southern Railway train depot. The track had begun service in 1872 and was partially responsible for the founding of the towns of Westminster, Seneca, Central, Easley, and Liberty.

Calhoun was incorporated in 1892; soon the town adjacent to Clemson College boasted several general stores, a brickyard, a blacksmith, two schools, four churches, its own post office, livery services and boarding houses, and its own local doctor. According to the 1910 census the town had around 200 citizens; by 1920 the population had grown to over 700.

It is not clear whether the town was named Calhoun by the Atlanta/Charlotte Railway Company or if locals named it after one of the Calhoun brothers who owned a plantation on the north side of the train tracks. The increasing growth of the college over the years eventually eclipsed the town of Calhoun. The area was incorporated as the town of Clemson in 1943.

Seventeen Calhoun residents were interviewed by W.J. Megginson in 1988 and 1989 to document aspects of everyday life in the community. The interviews focus on the first few decades of the twentieth century as individuals draw on local family histories, as well as their own experiences to trace the evolution of the town of Calhoun into the modern college town of Clemson. Commercial and religious activities; black-white relationships; the foundation of the local Masonic lodge; notable local landmarks such as "Judge" Keller's, "Calhoun Corner's" (Morgan & Boggs store), Clinkscales livery stable, and the Smith and Newman boarding houses are discussed. The individuals who grew up in and around the town of Calhoun and recount the everyday life and unique character of the community are: Beth Anderson, Mamie Morgan Bishop, Rosamond Lynn Boggs, Lucinda Reid Brown, Claude T. Fendley, Jack L. Fendley, Ray H. Fendley, Julius C. "Mike" Hubbard, Jr., William B. "Judge" Keller, Ina S. Megginson, Mildred Cochran Mixon, Edward S. Olson, Mary L. Olson, Eva Payne, Jane Vandiver Ramsey, Frances H. Smith, and George C. Summey.