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:
High school graduation rate of those 25 or older: 76.3 percent.
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:
High school graduation rate of those 25 or older: 76.3 percent.
We’re not exactly sure what this old place is, but figure it probably most recently was a rural joint, preceded by being a country store of some sort. Likely as not, there have been some very good times had here. The run-down building, located along S.C. Highway 261 between Manning and Kingstree, S.C., is in agricultural Clarendon County.
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.
This old house on S.C. Highway 260 in Clarendon County outside of Manning is now the office for a septic tank company, writes Kingstree photographer and retired editor Linda W. Brown. Once a rural area, this road which leads to Lake Marion is now lined with commercial establishments.
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)
Strong March winds caused erosion of topsoil in this disked, but unplanted, field near the Sardinia community of Clarendon County. Across the rural South, modern farmers are seeking to protect land from agricultural erosion. See this report.
This photo by retired Kingstree editor Linda W. Brown is our 200th post of Southern images on Southern Crescent. Hooray for us.
Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown taken March 30, 2014. All rights reserved.
This old farmhouse in the Sardinia community in rural Clarendon County seems to be getting a little long-needed loving. Retired editor and photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C., noted how the scaffolding across the house’s front porch indicates it is getting a new lease on life.
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)
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.
Scott’s Branch High School plaque
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)
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)
