The Center for a Better South
Dried sunflower stalks like the field in front an old barn in rural Florence County, S.C., in this photo taken by Kingstree photographer Linda W. Brown.
Florence County had 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.
Copyrighted photo taken in October 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Fields across South Carolina are white with “Carolina snow” as the season’s cotton harvest is underway. This field, captured by photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C., near Sardis in rural Florence County, S.C.
Florence County had 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.
Copyrighted photo taken in October 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Recently-baled hay is ready for the winter in this field west of the small town of Scranton in rural Florence County, S.C.
Florence County had 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.
Copyrighted photo taken in October 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
This rusting, old barn overlooking a soybean field looks like autumn to photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C. The barn is in rural Florence County.
Florence County had 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.
Copyrighted photo taken in October 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Just looking at this ghoulish photo of an that’s part of Haunted Montrose in Georgia gives us the willies. The seasonal attraction is a boost to the economy of this small Laurens County town of Montrose, population 154. Most interesting is how folks in this small community put the town on the map in a non-agricultural time of the year to generate extra revenue. See earlier photo.
Montrose, located in central Georgia, has a relatively low poverty rate of 11.2 percent, although 30 percent of its children live in poverty. Some 23.6 percent of residents of Laurens County (population 48,434) live in poverty, according to Census data
Photo taken Feb. 16, 2014 by Andy Brack. All rights reserved.
Autumned-browned weeds almost obscure this old house on Kirby Road in rural Florence County, S.C., writes photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree.
Florence County had 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.
Copyrighted photo taken in October 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C. sent along this picture recently from nearby rural Florence County that shows an old store full of signs from all times — plus a couple of vintage gas pumps.
Photo is copyrighted 2014, Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer says this kind of farmhouse in rural Washington County, Ga., is known sometimes a “Georgia Cracker.” It “was once widespread throughout the region. It’s becoming quite rare today,” he wrote here in 2013, where you can see more photos.
The county, which is in central Georgia, is named for George Washington prior to him becoming president. It is the only county in the country to be named for him as a general. Some 20,676 people live in the county, which has Sandersville as the seat of government. Thirty percent of children live below the federal poverty line.
Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown, 2013. All rights reserved.
You can tell how popular pork products are through this old sign on a barn near Soperton, Ga. We remember the smoky tastiness of barbecue and Brunswick stew from rural Treutlen County from childhood. The photo is by VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown.
The county, almost in the middle of Georgia, is home to about 6,700 people, two-thirds of whom are white. Some 26 percent of the population live at or below the federal poverty line.
Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown. All rights reserved.
Providence Methodist Church, circa 1859 in rural Stewart County, Ga., has always caught the attention of VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown. It’s a fascinating church, he said here, that is located in western Georgia on the Alabama line in the small county — population 5,803 in 2013.
“On my last visit, however, I was appalled at the horrible condition of the cemetery,” he wrote after this 2011 photo.. “This is on state park land (or at least accessible only via state park road at which an entrance fee is collected) and an absolute disgrace to the department. I realize budget cuts have been a constant source of despair, but surely a friends group or volunteer organization could assist with its cleanup. It’s one of the oldest cemeteries in this section of the state, and if the government is going to oversee and promote the [Providence] canyon as a tourist attraction, it should have some respect for the pioneer citizens who rest permanently on its grounds.”
The county, where about 30 percent of those who are under 18 live in poverty, has lost population since 2010 and is about at its 1980 level in population. In its agricultural peak in 1900, almost 16,000 people lived in Stewart County.
Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown, 2011. All rights reserved.