South Carolina – Building a better South

May 25, 2016

Summer is on the way

After seeing these petunias growing outside a house in St. Matthews, S.C., on a plant stand made of a three-wheeler, it’s pretty clear that spring is in full swing and summer is just around the corner.

About a quarter of the population of the town is at or below the federal poverty line, according to this article. More than 60 percent of residents of the town, which is Calhoun County’s seat of government, are black.

The county is home to just over 15,000 people, which makes it the third least populous county in the state. It’s also the smallest geographically in the state. Named for former Vice President and U.S. Sen. John C. Calhoun, about 16 percent of families live below the poverty line. More.

Photo by Andy Brack.

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016

Bricks on the roof

You can see bricks on the roof of this Bridge Street house in St. Matthews, S.C., a town of just over 2,000 people in the central part of the state. Bricks? Yep. They’re keeping the tin on the roof from blowing away from periodic high winds that accompany thunderstorms. Continue reading “Bricks on the roof”

September 8, 2015September 8, 2015

Wood products, Allendale, S.C.

Collum's Lumber Products is in Allendale County, S.C. — *Collum’s Lumber Products is in Allendale County, S.C.*

A Collum’s Lumber Products worker smiles from a bird’s eye perch above the lumber and po9le manufacturing plant in Allendale, S.C., one of the six counties in the S.C. Promise Zone. Collum’s is an independent, family-owned wholesale timber business that buys timber to make top quality, sustainable wholesale lumber. More.

August 25, 2015August 12, 2015

Tin-roofed buildings, Clarendon County, S.C.

Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown remembers taking this picture last year in rural Clarendon County. They could be storage buildings or old tenant homes, she recalled.

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

More QuickFacts from the U.S. Census.

August 19, 2015August 12, 2015

Barn, near Hyman, S.C.

High summer finds a crop in the field in front of an old barn in Hyman, a small community just outside Pamplico, in rural Florence County, S.C.

Florence County had 137,948 people, according to a 2012 Census estimate. Its poverty rate — higher in the rural areas than the county seat of Florence, averaged 19.4 percent in 2010.

QuickFacts about Florence County .

August 11, 2015August 12, 2015

UFO Welcome Center, Bowman, S.C.

Yep, there’s a welcome center for UFOs in the heart of the Southern Crescent in Bowman, S.C., in rural Orangeburg County.

The saucer-shaped building is in the yard of Jody Pendarvis, who started building it in 1994, according to RoadsideAmerica.com.

Mount Pleasant resident Don Gordon snapped the photo on a detour through Bowman in an attempt to avoid traffic jam on Interstate 26.

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.

QuickFacts about Orangeburg County from the U.S. Census.
More about Orangeburg via Wikipedia.

July 30, 2015July 23, 2015

Public works, Ehrhardt, S.C.

This classic old public works building in Ehrhardt, S.C., illustrates how rural communities invested in infrastructure in decades past. But the broken windows highlight how some infrastructure is eroding and needs more upkeep to stay modern. Photo by Andy Brack. All rights reserved.

July 26, 2015July 23, 2015

Post office, Ehrhardt, S.C.

A familiar feature in many small towns across the South is the standard 1960s post office, like the one pictured here in Ehrhardt, S.C. With challenges faced by the U.S. Postal Service and reductions in population in rural communities, small post offices face survival challenges. Photo by Andy Brack. All rights reserved.

July 22, 2015July 23, 2015

Corn on a muggy day, Denmark, S.C.

Across the South are fields of corn that are baking in the humid heat of summer. This field, with the silver roof of an old farmhouse in the background, is east of Denmark, S.C., along U.S. Highway 78. Photo by Andy Brack. All rights reserved.

July 12, 2015

Town hall meeting, Barnwell, S.C.

The SouthernCarolina Alliance, lead organization of the new South Carolina Promise Zone, held three town hall meetings in recent days to listen and learn to what residents dream for to make real and lasting change in the region. The Alliance will hold three more meetings in coming days. The Center for a Better South is a supporting organization of the Promise Zone. Learn more.