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.
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.
You never know where you’ll run into a menagerie, photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C. writes. She found these stone lions, elephants and giraffes in her hometown in November.
Kingstree is the county seat for Williamsburg County, which is about 75 miles north of Charleston, S.C. Just under 34,000 people live in the county. 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.
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.
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.
This chair sits on the porch of a house in the Kingstree, S.C., neighborhood of the photographer, Linda W. Brown. She writes, “Although no one has lived in the house for several years and the house is in serious decline, the chair appears to be waiting for someone to come along and ‘set a spell.'”
Kingstree is the county seat for Williamsburg County, which is about 75 miles north of Charleston, S.C. Just under 34,000 people live in the county. 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.
By springtime, most agricultural fields once were under cultivation, writes retired editor Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C. But this Williamsburg County field near Kingstree has been taken over by common sorrel, an herb often viewed as a weed with small bright red to purple flowers. “The changing agricultural outlook leaves many of them [fields] fallow,” she writes.
Williamsburg County, which is about 75 miles north of Charleston, S.C., has a population of just under 34,000 people. 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.
Thorntree House, nestled in recent snow that blanketed much of South Carolina in a rare super-cold snap, is believed to be the oldest home in “Williamsburgh District,” retired editor and photographer Linda W. Brown writes.
“Built in 1749 on Thorntree Swamp near present-day Salters, it was the home of James Witherspoon, one of the early settlers. It was moved to Kingstree in the early 1970s and restored as a ‘house museum.'” These days, Thorntree is owned and operated by the Williamsburgh Historical Society.
“Small rural historical societies work hard to preserve the history of their communities, but it is becoming more of a struggle with each passing year,” Brown writes. “Grant funding for this kind of historical preservation has become scarce and funding, in general, is becoming harder to secure. Historical societies depend largely on volunteers, donations and membership dues to continue their preservation work.”
Kingstree is the county seat for Williamsburg County, which is about 75 miles north of Charleston, S.C. Just under 34,000 people live in the county. 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.
Voting in Kingstree, S.C. Photo by Linda W. Brown.
A voter in Kingstree, S.C., votes in this photo on whether to change Williamsburg County‘s form of government from a council-supervisor type in which an elected official “runs” the county to a council-administrator form in which a professional manager is hired by the local council to run things.
Retired local editor Linda W. Brown says she thought the referendum failed by a 2-1 margin because of voters’ fears that the new form would erode voting rights, which were reduced when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key part of the federal Voting Rights Act earlier this summer.
Across the South, voters tend to participate in elections much like the rest of the nation. In the 2012 presidential election, for example, 58.2 percent of eligible voters cast ballots nationally. More than 60 percent of voters in four Southern states (Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina and Virginia) cast ballots, while three others exceeded the national average (Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.) Only Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee were below the national average, but all were above 50 percent, according to a George Mason University study.
Years ago, the Cooper Brothers Gin in Kingstree, S.C., was one of Williamsburg County’s most important businesses, writes photographer and retired editor Linda W. Brown.
“Today, it sits abandoned just off Longstreet Street/Highway 52. Many longtime residents are not even aware it’s there behind Cabbage’s Tire Service, although it is visible both from Longstreet and from the Kingstree Police Department parking lot.
“To me it exemplifies that we live such fast-paced lives that we are often not aware of the past or of parts of our history even when they’re visible to us every day.”
Williamsburg County, located in the middle of the Southern Crescent, is about 75 miles north of Charleston, S.C. Just under 34,000 people live in the 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.
