The Center for a Better South
Overlooking nothing but fields, the Genesis Variety Store & Diner in northeastern Williamsburg County, S.C., posts its menu beside the front door, with breakfast including grits, country ham sandwiches and waffles, writes Kingstree photographer Linda W. Brown. Later in the day, the store offers barbecue, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and onion rings among its tasty offerings.
Copyrighted photo taken August 2014, by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown recently sent along this 2010 photo of Martin’s Grocery in rural Laurens County, Ga.
Some 23.6 percent of residents of Laurens County (population 48,434) live in poverty, according to Census data
Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown, 2010. All rights reserved.
VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown sent along this photo of a decaying farmhouse from Worth County, Ga. Click here to see a lot of other neat photos of the South Georgia county.
Worth County 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.
Photo by Brian Brown from VanishingSouthGeorgia.com is copyrighted. All rights reserved
This old nightclub in rural Lane, S.C., in southern Williamsburg County has a large tree growing through its awning. Photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree observes that in many towns, the tree would have been cut down to make way for business, but the two co-exist in Lane, once was a thriving railroad town where few businesses remain today.
Copyrighted photo taken in June 2014, by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Prospect Grocery on S.C. Highway 341 near Johnsonville, S.C., rests in Sunday-afternoon quiet, but is busy during the week.
The Prospect community is famous for “The Neck” Christmas Parade and is infamous as the spot where Pee Wee Gaskins buried a number of his murder victims, according to photographer and retired editor Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C.
Johnsonville, population about 1,400, is in the southeastern tip of Florence County, which 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 August 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C., observes that gourds are used as nesting boxes from purple martins and are a common sight in the rural South. This photo was taken near a packhouse in rural Florence County not far from Johnsonville.
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.
Copyrighted photo taken in August 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Although tobacco no longer dominates the agricultural landscape in the South Carolina’s Pee Dee region, there are still a number of acres of the golden leaf planted, photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree writes.
This field, ready for harvest, is located in the Vox community of rural Florence County.
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.
Copyrighted photo taken in August 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
An old country store on the side of the road in eastern Clarendon County still proclaims the message that “JESUS SAVES.” But as photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree, S.C., observes, the Almighty apparently was not able to save the store from closing.
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:
Photo taken by Linda W. Brown. Copyrighted; all rights reserved.
Ripe grain spreads out in front of this rural Clarendon County church, reminding us that we need both bread and faith to survive, writes photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree, S.C.
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:
Photo taken March 2013 by Linda W. Brown. Copyrighted; all rights reserved.
A herd of cows grazes placidly spring pastureland in 2013 in rural Clarendon County, S.C., writes photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C.
Photo by Linda W. Brown taken March 2013. All rights reserved.