Featured – Page 26 – Building a better South

January 2, 2014January 2, 2014

Library, Greeleyville, S.C.

The McCollum-Murray House in Greeleyville, S.C., has been restored and is now used as a branch of the Williamsburg County Library, writes retired editor Linda W. Brown of Kingstree. The building, once the home of Dr. C.E. Murray, is on the National Register.

“This is an innovative use of resources for a small town,” writes Brown.

The house was built at the turn of the 20th century for a successful African-American couple. To learn more about the building, its renovation and transformation into a public library, click here for an interesting Power Point presentation.

Greeleyville, pictured here, is a town of 438 people that once thrived in southwestern Williamsburg County. Just under 34,000 people now live in the county, which is about the number who lived there in 1900, according to Census figures. 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 1,921 firms, 36.5 percent are black-owned — a percentage that is three times South Carolina’s average.

December 30, 2013November 16, 2014

Farmhouse, Lane, S.C.

Lane, S.C., was once a busy railroad hub that boasted two hotels, several successful businesses and a number of large houses, writes retired editor and photographer Linda W. Brown.

“While some of the houses are still well-maintained, this one is fading fast,” she says.

These days, Lane, which is in Williamsburg County, has about 600 people.

Just under 34,000 people live in Williamsburg County, which is about the number who lived there in 1900, according to Census figures. Population peaked in 1950 at 43,807, but has dropped slowly since then.

December 28, 2013

Roadside store, Trio, S.C.

This old store in Trio, S.C., is across the street from the former Bank of Trio. Retired editor and photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree says it’s “just another example of how once thriving country stores have fallen victim to our greater mobility.”

Trio (pronounced Try-o) was once a thriving community in southern Williamsburg County founded by the three Bryan brothers, writes Brown. The area’s main industries were lumber, turpentine and agriculture.

“The Bank of Trio is long gone, but the building still remains as a reminder of more prosperous days,” she says.

December 26, 2013December 26, 2013

Empty home near historic school, Summerton, S.C.

Abandoned house near historic school, Summerton, S.C.

Just over the top of the front roof of this abandoned house in Summerton, S.C., you can see the American flag waving at the historic Scott’s Branch school. The Clarendon County school sits on the site that saw the start of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education education case in South Carolina.

Way back in 1947, the NAACP agreed to sponsor a federal case after black parents sued for inferior conditions in the Clarendon County schools. In short, they wanted money to help pay for gas for a secondhand bus provided by the county. The case, Briggs v. Elliott, became the “first case filed, tried and appealed to the Supreme Court challenging segregation in public schools,” according to a 2011 National Law Journal article by Leon Friedman and U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel. The article is a tribute to the courage of the late U.S. District Judge Waties Waring, whose historic dissent sent the Briggs case to the high court.

These days, the historic Scott’s Branch school has been recovered with a bright blue metal roof. It is used these days as a community resource center.

Summerton has about 1,000 people. 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)

December 24, 2013December 22, 2013

Downtown Manning, S.C.

Downtown Manning, S.C., is filled with Christmas cheer in this picture taken earlier this month.

Manning, which has a population of about 4,000 people, is the county seat for Clarendon County, a Southern Crescent county with 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)

December 22, 2013December 22, 2013

Another view, Trio, S.C.

Here’s a close-up of the old Bank of Trio (pronounced Try-o) in the once thriving rural community of Trio in southern Williamsburg County. (Click to see another view.)

“The Bank of Trio is long gone, but the building still remains as a reminder of more prosperous days,” says retired editor Linda W. Brown of Kingstree. In the building’s later years, it housed a general store (Rowell’s) and a post office.

Today, the building is abandoned and the 29595 zip code no longer is active. The community’s “post office” is a group of mailboxes by the side of the road. Trio was founded by the three Bryan brothers when the area’s main industries were lumber, turpentine and agriculture.

December 20, 2013December 20, 2013

Old bank, Trio, S.C.

Trio (pronounced Try-o) was once a thriving community in southern Williamsburg County founded by the three Bryan brothers, writes retired editor Linda W. Brown of Kingstree. The area’s main industries were lumber, turpentine and agriculture.

“The Bank of Trio is long gone, but the building still remains as a reminder of more prosperous days,” she says. In the building’s later years, it housed a general store (Rowell’s) and a post office. These days the “post office” is a group of mailboxes by the side of the road.

December 16, 2013December 16, 2013

Old grocery store, Poplar Hill, S.C.

Old grocery store, Williamsburg County, S.C.

This old 76 gas station was known as Britton’s Grocery many years ago, writes retired editor Linda W. Brown of Kingstree. It’s located in the Poplar Hill area of Williamsburg County.

December 14, 2013December 14, 2013

Leaning shed, Clarendon County, S.C.

Retired editor Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C., spied this leaning shed and rusty equipment in the countryside of Clarendon County near Davis Station. Both, she said, “speak to the condition of small farms in rural communities in 2013.” See another picture from the area.

Clarendon County, split in half by Interstate 95, had almost 21 percent of residents living in poverty, according to the 2010 Census.

Quick facts about Clarendon County from the U.S. Census

December 10, 2013December 10, 2013

Tumbling down, Indiantown, S.C.

Vines reclaim old store, Indiantown, S.C.

It must be the week of vines. Earlier this week, we posted a South Carolina photo by Linda W. Brown of a bushy tobacco barn in Clarendon County. Now she turns her lens on her home county, Williamsburg County, where she found vines eating up an old rural grocery store.

“I believe this old grocery store was known as Owens’ Grocery,” Linda wrote in October. “It’s on S.C. Highway 261 between Kingstree and Hemingway in the Indiantown community. It’s been closed for many years, although the woman who ran the store died just last week.

“Now, it seems to be a dumping ground for people’s trash. This was also taken on January 26 of this this year. Winter is the only time you can actually see any of the building. During the summer the vines completely cover it.”