Tag: Orangeburg County

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Neglected, Bowman, S.C.

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Abandoned agricultural buildings, near Bowman, S.C.

 

These old buildings along U.S. Highway 178 just south of the town limits of Bowman, S.C., are abandoned, given up to invading vines, trees and neglect.  You can imagine how they were busy in their heyday when small-farm agriculture boomed.

The red-brick-colored buildings are in Orangeburg County, home too more than 91,000 people, two thirds of whom are black.  The county has a poverty rate of 24.5 percent.  The City of Orangeburg, known for its gardens and historically black colleges, officially is home to 13,850 people and has a 31.3 poverty rate in 2012, but the greater area has more than 65,000 people. Bowman, chartered in 1894, has just under 1,000 people.

Copyrighted photo was taken April 23, 2014 by Andy Brack.  All rights reserved.

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Silos, near Bowman, S.C.

Silos, near Bowman, S.C.
Silos, near Bowman, S.C.

These empty silos off appropriately-named Holstein Road in rural Orangeburg County are waiting to be filled with crops that recently have been planted.

Orangeburg County is home too more than 91,000 people, two thirds of whom are black.  The county has a poverty rate of 24.5 percent.  The City of Orangeburg, known for its gardens and historically black colleges, officially is home to 13,850 people and has a 31.3 poverty rate in 2012, but the greater area has more than 65,000 people. Bowman, by contrast, has just under 1,000 people.

Copyrighted photo was taken April 23, 2014 by Andy Brack.  All rights reserved.

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70s sign, near Bowman, S.C.

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Pen Davis Grocery, near Bowman, S.C.

 

This floral, colorful 1970s 7-Up sign outside the old Pen Davis Grocery south of Bowman, S.C.,  on U.S. Highway 178 evokes an uplifting sense of days gone by, despite the slow decay of the store.

14.0505.signThe abandoned rural store, which sports at least two “no trespassing” signs, is in Orangeburg County, home too more than 91,000 people, two thirds of whom are black.  The county has a poverty rate of 24.5 percent.  The City of Orangeburg, known for its gardens and historically black colleges, officially is home to 13,850 people and has a 31.3 poverty rate in 2012, but the greater area has more than 65,000 people. Bowman, by contrast, has just under 1,000 people.

Copyrighted photo was taken April 23, 2014 by Andy Brack.  All rights reserved.

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Tree tunnel, Orangeburg County, S.C.

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This jungle of trees over a dusty dirt road in rural Orangeburg County is a familiar site along the Southern and Gulf coasts.

Orangeburg County is home to more than 91,000 people, two thirds of whom are black.  The county has a poverty rate of 24.5 percent.  The City of Orangeburg, known for its gardens and historically black colleges, officially is home to 13,850 people and has a 31.3 poverty rate in 2012, but the greater area has more than 65,000 people.

Copyrighted photo was taken April 23, 2014 by Andy Brack.  All rights reserved.

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For sale, near Orangeburg, S.C.

For sale, Orangeburg County, S.C.
For sale, Orangeburg County, S.C.

This old farmhouse might look a little worn, but it has good bones, according to a neighbor. The home, along the Charleston Highway just to the southeast of Orangeburg, S.C., has been abandoned for a year.  Former residents reportedly took a lot of the copper piping out of the dwelling, but the neighbor said the roof is good and only minor work needs to be done to make it habitable. It is on the market apparently for around $40,000.

Orangeburg County is home to more than 91,000 people, two thirds of whom are black.  The county has a poverty rate of 24.5 percent.  The City of Orangeburg, known for its gardens and historically black colleges, officially is home to 13,850 people and has a 31.3 poverty rate in 2012, but the greater area has more than 65,000 people.

Copyrighted photo was taken April 23, 2014 by Andy Brack.  All rights reserved.

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Great barbecue, Holly Hill, S.C.

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It’s not a cliche that the South, particularly the Crescent South, knows how to make outstanding barbecue, such as this plate from Sweatman’s just outside Holly Hill, S.C.

Holly Hill is in Orangeburg County, which at 1,128 square miles is almost the size of Rhode Island!  The county, home to 91,476 people  in 2012, stretches from Eutawville and its Revolutionary War site in the east near Lake Marion to Springfield and North, more than 60 miles to the west.   Almost two in three residents of the county are black.  Some 24.5 percent of residents live below poverty.

Copyrighted photo was taken in January 2014 by Andy Brack.  All rights reserved.

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“Im still here,” North, S.C.

Along Main Street, North, S.C.
Along Main Street, North, S.C.

Two guys walk past an empty building on Main Street in North, S.C., on a chilly January day.  What caught our attention about the deteriorating grand-looking commercial building was the red sign of the establishment at the right — a church that appeared to be closed.  Emblazoned at the top:  “Im Still Here and Still Standing For Jesus.”

North, which has an old military air strip outside of the town limits that is still used for military touch-and-go landings for C-17 Globemaster transport jets, seems to be a tired, rural town.  The reason:  It got its oomph more than 100 years because of the railroad, which isn’t a player these days. [History.]

North, which has a population of about 800, is in Orangeburg County, which is South Carolina’s largest.  Some 91,476 people were thought to live in the county in 2012, according to the U.S. Census.  Almost two in three residents are black.  Some 24.5 percent of residents live below poverty.

Copyrighted photo was taken Jan. 22, 2014 by Andy Brack.  All rights reserved.