Clunker, Florence County, S.C.

Rusting hulk, Florence County, S.C.
Rusting hulk, Florence County, S.C.

It’s been a long while since this clunker has seen life on the roadways.  Photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C., spied it while driving on S.C. Highway 341 between Lake City and Johnsonville in neighboring Florence County.

Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown, 2014.  All rights reserved.

Old truck, Clarendon County, S.C.

Truck, near Goat Island in Clarendon County, S.C.
Truck, near Goat Island in Clarendon County, S.C.

Photographer Linda W. Brown says this old truck, parked in a Clarendon County field near Goat Island, S.C., almost transports you back to the 1940s and 1950s.

Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown, 2014.  All rights reserved.

Cotton picker, Williamsburg County, S.C.

Cotton picking machine, Williamsburg County, S.C.
Cotton picking machine, Williamsburg County, S.C.

A cotton picker stands in the middle of a cotton field on S.C. Highway 261 in western Williamsburg County. Photo taken by Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C., on Dec. 21, 2014.  All rights reserved.

Workman Grocery, Williamsburg County, S.C.

Workman Grocery, Williamsburg County, S.C.
Workman Grocery, Williamsburg County, S.C.

While country stores seem to be dying out in the rural South, Workman Grocery at Workman Crossroads on S.C. Highway 527 in Williamsburg County, S.C., still is in operation, says photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree.

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.

Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown taken in September 2013.  All rights reserved.

Two mules, Florence County, S.C.

Mules, Florence County, S.C.
Mules, Florence County, S.C.

These two mules live in Florence County on S.C. Highway 341 between Lake City and Johnsonville.  Photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree recalls how mules, once a normal part of the Southern countryside, now are seen only rarely.

In 2010, Better South President Andy Brack wrote a commentary on the disappearance of mules across the region.  He wrote in Charleston Currents:

Back in 1930, there were about 5.4 million mules in the United States, according to Census data. Today? 283,806 mules and donkeys, according to 2007 Census numbers, which combined both types of animals into one category. South Carolina had 188,895 mules in 1930, compared to 1,620 mules and donkeys today.

 

So what happened? Mechanization and World War II.

 

“When the army started to get tanks, mules pretty much went by the wayside” because they weren’t needed to pull artillery and do other work that could be done by machines, said Leah Patton, registrar of the American Donkey and Mule Society in Lewisville, Texas.

 

Farmers started plowing with tractors. Farm families started traveling by car or truck. Because mules, a cross between a horse and donkey, are sterile and can’t breed, the species’ numbers dropped dramatically.

 

Patton’s society has more than 70,000 donkeys and mules registered in an attempt to keep alive the interest in the animals. Most people, she noted, don’t register mules because they are only around for their lifetimes.

 

But mules are still revered in some corners where people use them for more recreational purposes — showing them and riding them. And you can still find them hard at work in developing countries where people live off the land and don’t have enough money for tractors.

Photo is copyrighted by Linda W. Brown; taken in December 2014.  All rights reserved.

Rural eastern Carolina field

Storage shed in South Carolina.
Storage shed in South Carolina.

You can find storage sheds like this throughout the eastern Carolinas.  Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown snapped this shot in November in the New Zion area of Clarendon County.

Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown, 2014.  All rights reserved.

Dropping prices, Hardeeville, S.C.

The price of gasoline is dropping, as highlighted here in Hardeeville, S.C.
The price of gasoline is dropping, as highlighted here in Hardeeville, S.C.

It’s hard to believe that prices for gasoline are below $2.00 in some parts of the Southern Crescent.  Several stations at the Hardeeville, S.C., exit of Interstate 95 had low prices on Sunday, although in nearby Ridgeland, gas cost $0.50 more per gallon.  Both are in Jasper County.

Jasper County, population 25,833, is just over the river from Savannah, Ga.  Its location near the metro area likely is why poverty in Jasper County (21.4 percent) is half that of Allendale County to the north.  Ridgeland has a poverty rate of more than 24 percent, while Hardeeville’s rate exceeds 32 percent.

Photo by Andy Brack, taken on Dec. 28, 2014.  All rights reserved.

Holiday scene, Kingstree, S.C.

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Photographer Linda W. Brown snapped this holiday scene in her hometown of Kingstree, S.C., the governmental seat of Williamsburg County.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our photos of the Southern Crescent region throughout 2014 and look forward to providing you with more compelling imagery over the next year.  Happy holidays!

Photo is copyrighted by Linda W. Brown.  All rights reserved.

Courthouse, Williamsburg County, S.C.

 

County Courthouse, Kingstree, S.C.
County Courthouse, Kingstree, S.C.

Legendary architect Robert Mills, who designed the Washington Monument, also designed the courthouse in Williamsburg County, S.C. (above).  The ground floor of the building, built in 1823, is part of the original structure, writes photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C.

In 2013, the building got a much-needed renovation as part of an extensive capital project made possible by the federal stimulus program. In addition to the courthouse renovation, the county built a new county administration building, a new jail, a new 911 center and a new animal shelter.

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.

Copyrighted photo taken in 2014 by Linda W. Brown  All rights reserved.

Fading sign, Soperton, Ga.

Old horse and mule business, Soperton, Ga.
Old horse and mule business, Soperton, Ga.

This fading old Coca Cola sign is on the side of a brick building in Soperton, Ga., a town of just over 3,000 people in Truetlen County in the middle of Georgia.  VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown says it’s part of an ad for horses and mules.

According to a post on Brown’s site, the top of the sign was covered by a Firestone sign until just a few years ago.  The building most recently housed a retail business that had the franchises for Firestone tires, Snapper, Zenith, GE and more.  The original building reportedly was a horse and mule operation owned by a local political and business leader.

The county 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.  In the town of Soperton, more than 31 percent of people live below the poverty line.

Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown.  All rights reserved.