Tenant house in cotton field, Williamsburg County, S.C.
Roll-roofing-sided tenant houses, like this one, used to be a common sight in Williamsburg County. But they’re rare these days, says retired editor and photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C.
“I liked the cotton field in the foreground with the tenant house behind it as a reminder that we aren’t all that far removed from the days of the sharecropper. You can’t really see it, but way in the background is an old tobacco barn.”
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.
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.
In many towns across the rural South, it’s not hard to find old homes near downtown that were once at the edge of town. They blended a little of country and city at the same time.
While decrepit now, this old house might soon be in for an upfit, based on some of the stuff in the yard that’s outside of the picture. The property sits about two blocks off the main street in Sylvania, Ga.
Sylvania, the county seat of Screven County, had 2,675 people in 2000, according to the Census. Screven County got its start after the Revolutionary War and soon became part of the Black Belt of Georgia where cotton became an important staple crop tended by enslaved African Americans.
The county’s population jumped from 3,019 in 1800 to 8,274 by 1860, according to Census figures. While it had 14,593 people in 2010, the county lost an estimated 391 people — 2.7 percent — by 2012, according to the U.S. Census. In 2010, Some 25.4 percent of county residents lived below the federal poverty level, 9 points higher than the state average.
Here’s something found in many rural Southern agricultural towns — warehouses and grain elevators. This operation is run by Daniel W. Reed Co., in Sylvania, Ga.
Sylvania, the county seat of Screven County, had 2,675 people in 2000, according to the Census. Screven County got its start after the Revolutionary War and soon became part of the Black Belt of Georgia where cotton became an important staple crop tended by enslaved African Americans.
The county’s population jumped from 3,019 in 1800 to 8,274 by 1860, according to Census figures. While it had 14,593 people in 2010, the county lost an estimated 391 people — 2.7 percent — by 2012, according to the U.S. Census. In 2010, Some 25.4 percent of county residents lived below the federal poverty level, 9 points higher than the state average.
Members of the First United Methodist Church in Sylvania in eastern Georgia are shown leaving church on a fall Sunday. Despite the fact that Southern states tend to be more conservative than states in other parts of the country, Southerners tend to be more generous with larger percentages of their discretionary income going to charity.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, four Southern states — Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina — are in the top five most charitable states. Georgia ranks eighth, according to a 2012 study.
Sylvania, the county seat of Screven County, had 2,675 people in 2000, according to the Census. Screven County got its start after the Revolutionary War and soon became part of the Black Belt of Georgia where cotton became an important staple crop tended by enslaved African Americans.
The county’s population jumped from 3,019 in 1800 to 8,274 by 1860, according to Census figures. While it had 14,593 people in 2010, the county lost an estimated 391 people — 2.7 percent — by 2012, according to the U.S. Census. In 2010, Some 25.4 percent of county residents lived below the federal poverty level, 9 points higher than the state average.
This battered business is what train passengers wee when looking east while at the station in Yemassee, S.C., crossroads of four counties. Next door to this business is a white store with “Praise the Lord” and “Jesus is Lord” painted on large windows. The sign on top of the building says “Church of the Lord Jesus Christ Deliverance.” Down the street is a similar store converted into “The Holy Temple Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. of the Apostolic Faith.”
While Yemassee touches on Beaufort, Colleton and Jasper counties, the station and buildings in the photo appear to be in Hampton County, home to 21,090 people in 2010, about 4,000 fewer than a century earlier. More. Some 22.6 percent of Hampton County residents live below the poverty line. Hampton’s annual Watermelon Festival is the state’s longest, continually-running festival.
The town of Yemassee, S.C., which is at the intersection of four different Crescent counties, is all about shrimp. It has a shrimp festival every year. And as you can see from this picture, it’s even sold in bait shops (although, we’ve got to admit, that from some angles, the sign appears to be pointing to the pool hall.)
Just around the corner from this commercial complex is the other big thing in Yemassee — the Amtrak station. While Yemassee touches on Beaufort, Colleton and Jasper counties, the station and buildings in the photo are in Hampton County, home to 21,090 people in 2010, about 4,000 fewer than a century earlier. More. Some 22.6 percent of Hampton County residents live below the poverty line. Hampton’s annual Watermelon Festival is the state’s longest, continually-running festival.
Run-down motel, Allendale, S.C. Photo by Michael Kaynard.
Excerpted from an Oct. 13, 2013, story in The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier by Robert Behre:
Charleston-based center tries to tackle problems of the Southern Crescent
It could be the legacy of slavery or the more recent struggles facing family farms or rural areas’ loss of political clout.
In all likelihood, it’s some combination of all three — and possibly other factors as well.
Andy Brack, a self-employed journalist and head of the nonprofit Center for a Better South, is trying to call attention to the unique challenges facing this area, which he refers to as the “Southern Crescent.”
Brack said he never thought much about what lies beyond South Carolina’s so-called “Corridor of Shame.” The corridor — a wide swath around Interstate 95 — took its name from a 2006 documentary about the state’s most impoverished and struggling public schools.
As he studied maps, however, Brack realized the Palmetto State is not unique and that the corridor extends hundreds of miles beyond its state lines.
And he began an effort to raise awareness about its existence, awareness that he hopes will lead to solutions.
“We have a moral imperative to do something to reduce high rates of poverty, unemployment, disease and other conditions in the crescent,” he said. “If we deal with these, that will bolster the South’s reputation, lead to more business and improve our entire region.”
Sagging Southern Numbers
The South has:
Roughly 25 percent of the U.S. population.
Eight of the nation’s 10 poorest states (Miss., La., Ky., Ga., Ala., Ark., S.C. and N.C.)
Seven of the nation’s 10 states with lowest graduation rates from public high school (Miss., S.C., La., Ga., Fla., Ala. and Ark. )
Seven of the nation’s 10 states with lowest median household income (Miss., Ark., Ala., Ky., Tenn., La. and S.C.)
Four of the nation’s 10 states with the highest crime rates (Tenn., S.C., La., and Fla.)
Four of the nation’s 10 states with the highest unemployment in August 2013 (Ga., N.C., Miss. and Tenn.)
Two of the nation’s 10 states with lowest 2012 voter participation (Ark. and Tenn.)
Between five and eight of the nation’s 10 states with the highest rates of diabetes (8), high blood pressure (7), obesity (6) and infant mortality (5).
Source: 2013 Briefing Book on the South, October 2013. (which defines the South as these 11 states: Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga. Ky., La., Miss., N.C., S.C., Tenn. and Va.)
Overflowing trash bins like this pair at the southeastern tip of Emanuel County near where it joing Bullock and Candler counties seem more common in rural areas of the Southern Crescent where garbage pick-up is limited.
This photo was taken just north of the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Georgia Highway 121 in Emanuel County, which has almost 23,000 people and a poverty rate of 24.5 percent, according to the U.S. Census.
Photo taken Sept. 22, 2013, by Andy Brack. All rights reserved.
This old house in the Mouzon community of Williamsburg County, S.C., is a study of contrasts. On one hand, it’s falling down. But look more closely — somebody appears to have put in new footings to prop it up.
Retired editor Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree, S.C., notes that unless something is done soon, it will fall down. “There are more than a few of these in Williamsburg County,” she observed. “I’m wondering if it was moved to this property as there are no steps in sight.”
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.
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.
Orange dirt roads. Pine trees. Cotton fields. This photo evokes the writing of Georgia’s Erskine Caldwell. It was taken in Georgia’s cotton country just north of the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Georgia Highway 121 in Emanuel County.
According to the Cotton Council International 2013 Buyers’ Guide, Georgia farmers grew more than 15 percent of the nation’s cotton in 2011-12 by producing 2.465 million bales. The only state that grew more cotton was Texas, which produced 3.5 million of the nation’s 15.573 million bales in 2011-12.
Emanuel County,located north of Statesboro, Ga., has almost 23,000 people and a poverty rate of 24.5 percent, according to the U.S. Census.
Photo taken Sept. 23, 2013, by Michael Kaynard. All rights reserved.
