A CSX train loaded with wood chips and other cargo barrels down a track near Interstate 95 at Yemassee, S.C., on the edge of Hampton County.
Hampton County, located in the southern part of South Carolina, was 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 Hampton includes a brownfield of a former medical waste incinerator. More.
This old store, marked with the spray-painted word “sold” in a window, is very near this vernacular house in Cummings, S.C. (One of our favorite photos).
The store, replete with an area where gas pumps used to be, is in Hampton County, located in the southern part of South Carolina. It was 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 Hampton includes a brownfield of a former medical waste incinerator. More.
This old house in the southern part of Florence County is an example of so many farmhouses across the South that are no longer in use, writes Kingstree photographer Linda W. Brown. “From its size, one can imagine that it was once home to a large farm family,” she writes.
Photo taken December 2014 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
After two years of debris blocking the sidewalk on Main Street in downtown Kingstree, S.C., this building has finally been demolished, photographer Linda W. Brown writes.
The roof had collapsed, pushing debris out onto the sidewalk. In the few weeks since this picture was taken, the facade of the building has also been taken down. The building was for many years used as a hardware store and was on the National Register of Historic Places as part of downtown Kingstree’s historic district.
Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
Corn field with wild daylilies, Orangeburg County, S.C.
It’s that time of year — the time of year that the land is producing acre upon acre of bountiful food. This corn field, along U.S. Highway 176 at the Calhoun-Orangeburg county line, illustrates the continuing importance of agribusiness to the Palmetto State. Coming soon: Fresh tomatoes, beans, squash and more. (Photo by Andy Brack)
Construction is moving along apace on a new Family Dollar building on Main Street in downtown Kingstree on the spot once occupied by a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, writes photographer Linda W. Brown. She says the town already has two Family Dollar stores and, presumably, one will move into the new building. Kingstree also has two Dollar General stores.
Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown taken in April 2015. All rights reserved.
Trucks seem to have a long life in Williamsburg County, S.C., as farmers use their equipment as long as it lasts, notes photographer Linda W. Brown, who spied this old truck on a farm between Cades and Hebron.
Old Coast Guard helicopters, Hebron Crossroads, S.C.
Seeing a fleet of mothballed Coast Guard helicopters — particularly in rural Williamsburg County — isn’t an everyday sight, notes Kingstree photographer Linda W. Brown.
“These old Coast Guard helicopters have been accumulating on the grounds of the old Hebron School. After the school closed, the building was used as a “sewing plant.”Once it, too, closed, it appears that the owner is using the grounds for helicopter “storage.” Note the guard dog! ”
There’s not much business these days at this abandoned store on U.S. Highway 17 outside of McClellanville in the northern, rural part of Charleston County.
Photo by Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C. Taken March 28, 2015. All rights reserved.
Run-down motel, Allendale, S.C. Photo by Michael Kaynard.
[UPDATED, May 1, 2015] | The Center for a Better South is an integral part of the team that put together the successful application for rural counties in the southern part of South Carolina to win a federal Promise Zone designation this week.
“Without the visionary leadership and guidance of the Center for a Better South, the counties in the SouthernCarolina Alliance never would have applied for a federal Promise Zone designation, much less been able to put together the winning application that will change the lives of tens of thousands of people in the southern part of South Carolina,” said Danny Black, president and CEO of the Alliance, an economic development agency that will lead work in the Zone counties. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Center to grow jobs, reduce poverty and make our communities better.”
Better South President Andy Brack, who worked with the Alliance as part of a leadership team to bring together more than 20 organizations to partner on an application for the federal designation, said the Zone designation would make a big difference.
“This is going to change people’s lives,” he said. By being part of a new Promise Zone designations, just over 90,000 people in Allendale, Barnwell, Bamberg, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties will have new tools to be able to tap into existing federal grant dollars and other opportunities.
“It’s a big deal,” Brack said. “South Carolina is only the nation’s second rural Promise Zone and the only one announced today. If the same kinds of things happen here that have happened in the other rural Zone in eastern Kentucky, we should be looking at an infusion of millions of dollars over time to grow jobs, improve the economy, have better schools, get more affordable housing and reduce crime.”
