Tag: Fairfax

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Leaky roof, Fairfax, S.C.

Leaky roof, Fairfax, S.C.
Leaky roof, Fairfax, S.C.

Note the blue tarp on the roof of this dilapidated house on Sumter Street in Fairfax, S.C.  The area has a lot of housing that needs improvement, according to those who live in the area and nonprofit officials.

Fairfax, in rural Allendale County, lost about a third of its population by 2010, which it had 2,025 people compared to 3,206 people in 2000, according to Census figures in Wikipedia.   Per capita income was $8,940.  About 38 percent of the people in the town, which had about two times as many adult males as females, lived in poverty.

Rural Allendale County in South Carolina’s southwest corner as one of the Crescent’s highest poverty rates — more than 40 percent of people live below the federal poverty level. The median household income is about $23,000 a year — half of South Carolina’s average and well below the nation’s $50,000 average.

Copyrighted photo by Andy Brack, Oct. 1, 2014.  All rights reserved.

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Closed barber shop, Fairfax, S.C.

Steward's Barber Shop, Fairfax, S.C.
Steward’s Barber Shop, Fairfax, S.C.

As we took a photo of a closed barber shop along U.S. Highway 321 in Fairfax, S.C., you could see a drug deal going on in broad daylight across the street at an intersection.

Fairfax, in rural Allendale County, lost about a third of its population by 2010, which it had 2,025 people compared to 3,206 people in 2000, according to Census figures in Wikipedia.   Per capita income was $8,940.  About 38 percent of the people in the town, which had about two times as many adult males as females, lived in poverty.

Rural Allendale County in South Carolina’s southwest corner as one of the Crescent’s highest poverty rates — more than 40 percent of people live below the federal poverty level. The median household income is about $23,000 a year — half of South Carolina’s average and well below the nation’s $50,000 average.

Copyrighted photo by Andy Brack, Oct. 1, 2014.  All rights reserved.

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Another closed grocery store, Fairfax, S.C.

The only grocery store in Fairfax, S.C., an IGA known as “Gatlin’s,” reportedly closed about a year ago.  That followed an earlier closure of a Galaxy food mart profiled here in June 2013.

Closed, Fairfax S.C.
Closed, Fairfax S.C.

Today, the only grocery store that serves rural Allendale County is another IGA in Allendale, which means people from Fairfax have to drive to Allendale or Hampton just to buy groceries. [We’re told by Allendale-area residents that the Fairfax store may open again soon.]

“Food deserts” are often found in poor urban and rural communities because  it’s hard to find grocery stores with lots of healthy options.  People who live in food deserts may only have one store that stock more packaged and canned food than they do fresh foods.  In turn, having fewer options tends to support unhealthy eating habits that lead to higher incidents of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity and more.

With just over 40 percent of Allendale County’s 10,000 people living at or below the poverty level, the median household income is about $23,000 a year — half of South Carolina’s average and well below the nation’s $50,000 average.

Photo by Andy Brack, Center for a Better South, Oct. 1, 2014.  All rights reserved.

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Pool hall, Fairfax, S.C.

John's Pool Hall, Fairfax, S.C.
John’s Pool Hall, Fairfax, S.C.

It was quiet on a recent Sunday morning outside this pool hall in Fairfax, S.C.  Down the street, people filed into churches for morning services.

Fairfax, in rural Allendale County, lost about a third of its population by 2010, which it had 2,025 people compared to 3,206 people in 2000, according to Census figures in Wikipedia.   Per capita income was $8,940.  About 38 percent of the people in the town, which had about two times as many adult males as females, lived in poverty.

Rural Allendale County in South Carolina’s southwest corner as one of the Crescent’s highest poverty rates — more than 40 percent of people live below the federal poverty level. The median household income is about $23,000 a year — half of South Carolina’s average and well below the nation’s $50,000 average.

Photo by Andy Brack, Sept. 22, 2013.  All rights reserved.