Andy Brack – Page 18 – Building a better South

July 6, 2014September 21, 2014

Old barn, Williamsburg County, S.C.

This old barn on Roper Woods Road in eastern Williamsburg County, S.C., is giving way to time, writes photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree. The photo was taken earlier this spring when the winter wheat crop in the foreground was green.

Williamsburg County, which is about 75 miles north of Charleston, S.C., has a population of just under 34,000 people. Population peaked in 1950 at 43,807, but has dropped slowly since then.

About two-thirds of county residents are black, with almost all of those remaining being white. Only 2 percent of those in the county are of Hispanic descent. Some 32.8 percent of residents live in poverty, according to the Census. Of the county’s 1,92

1 firms, 36.5 percent are black-owned — a percentage that is three times South Carolina’s average.

Williamsburg County on Wikipedia.

QuickFacts from the U.S. Census.

July 3, 2014July 2, 2014

Crescent prominent in new map of poverty areas

Poverty is creeping closer to people living in the American South, according to a new report from the U.S. Census.

This map from a new U.S. Census report clearly shows high poverty areas that stretch along the Southern Crescent from Virgina through Georgia to the Delta area along the Mississippi River.

Just under one in three people across the South — 30.8 percent — live in a neighborhood or community in which at least 20 percent of people live in poverty. Just 10 years ago across the region, one in five people — 21.8 percent of Southerners — lived in these “poverty areas.” Continue reading “Crescent prominent in new map of poverty areas”

July 1, 2014November 16, 2014

Old GMC truck fades away in Florence County, S.C.

This old GMC truck, despite its coat of rust, still has plenty of character as it sits beside U.S. Highway 52 in Florence County, notes Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown.

Florence Countyhad 137,948 people, according to a 2012 Census estimate. Its poverty rate — higher in the rural areas than the county seat of Florence, averaged 19.4 percent in 2010.

QuickFacts about Florence County and the City of Florence.

June 25, 2014June 20, 2014

Another abandoned store, Pretoria, Ga.

14.0625.ga_pretoria — Pretoria Station, Dougherty County, Ga.

Here’s yet another abandoned rural store, this one called “Pretoria Station” in Dougherty County, which is home to the county seat of Albany.

Dougherty County is home to almost 93,000 people, according to 2013 U.S. Census estimates. Two-thirds of residents are black, with 30 percent being white. An estimated 30.6 people live in poverty, according to Census figures. The story is the same for Albany, where all but 17,000 of the county’s residents live. But the poverty rate is higher — 34.2 percent, about twice what is Georgia’s state average.

Census information on Albany and Dougherty County.

June 25, 2014June 20, 2014

Tenant farmhouse, Isabella, Ga.

14.0627.ga_isabella_worthco — Tenant farmhouse, Isabella, Ga.

Here’s a dilapidated, crumbling tenant farmhouse in the Isabella of rural Worth County, which is located between Albany and Tifton in the central part of South Georgia. The county is home to Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Every jar made is produced in the county seat, Sylvester.

The county had about 21,300 people in 2013, according to the Census with whites representing 68.7 percent and blacks being 29.6 percent. Some 22 percent of people live below poverty levels, according to Census figures.

June 23, 2014June 20, 2014

Tison Grocery, Doles, Ga.

This is the old T.W. Tison Grocery in Doles, Ga., in rural Worth County. Stores like this used to dot rural landscapes but many, as highlighted by Brian Brown in VanishingSouthGeorgia.com, are wasting away and closed.

Worth County, which is located between Albany and Tifton in the central part of South Georgia, is home to Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Every jar made is produced in the county seat, Sylvester. The county had about 21,300 people in 2013, according to the Census with whites representing 68.7 percent and blacks being 29.6 percent. Some 22 percent of people live below poverty levels, according to Census figures.

June 21, 2014June 19, 2014

Office, Clarendon County, S.C.

This old house on S.C. Highway 260 in Clarendon County outside of Manning is now the office for a septic tank company, writes Kingstree photographer and retired editor Linda W. Brown. Once a rural area, this road which leads to Lake Marion is now lined with commercial establishments.

Clarendon County has 34,357 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 population estimate. About half of the county’s residence are white; the other half are black. Some other statistics:

High school graduation rate of those 25 or older: 76.3 percent.
Bachelor’s degree graduates: 13.8 percent
Median household income: $33,267
Poverty rate: 22.8 percent
Unemployment rate, November 2013: 9.9 percent (2.5 percent higher than the state average)
Black-owned firms: 30.1 percent (18 points higher than state average)
Women-owned firms: 35.4 percent (8 points higher than state average)

More QuickFacts from the U.S. Census.

June 19, 2014

Deserted intersection, Calhoun County, S.C.

A deserted store is at one corner of an empty intersection in Calhoun County, S.C. Back in the day before Interstate 26, which is a few miles to the south, this place would have been a busy gathering place for local residents and travelers going between Charleston and the state capital city, Columbia.

Much of Calhoun County is very rural, but because part of it abuts the Columbia metro area, its poverty rate is a little lower than most Crescent areas. Poverty is 18.2 percent, according to a five-year Census average, less than a point higher than the state average. The county is, however, relatively small at just over 15,000 people. About 43 percent of residents are black with whites comprising 55 percent.

June 17, 2014June 13, 2014

Tift Theatre, Tifton, Ga.

Take a look at this 1937 Art Deco theatre in Tifton, Ga., that contributor Brian Brown published in 2010 on VanishingSouthGeorgia.com.

Tift County, population 40,286 in 2013, is an old agricultural market center that thrived a century and more ago thanks to lumber, cotton and other agricultural products. Today, it is home to Abraham Baldwin College. It continues to be a transportation as it is bisected by Interstate 75. U.S. Highways 82 and 319 also intersect in the county.

About two thirds of Tift residents are white; about a third are black. About 10 percent of people also identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census. The county’s poverty rate is 22.9 percent (2008-2012), but just over 30 percent in the county seat, Tifton (population 16,405).

June 15, 2014June 13, 2014

Boarded up, Eldorado, Ga.

VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown snapped this photo in 2008 of two boarded-up buildings in Eldorado, Ga., a few miles south of Tifton, Ga.