South Carolina – Page 4 – Building a better South

March 24, 2015March 25, 2015

Old diner, New Holland Crossroads, S.C.

Jackson Hole, New Holland Crossroads, S.C.

This apparently abandoned building is at New Holland Crossroads in Aiken County, S.C., writes photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C.

“There is an old ‘A’ food service rating on the door, so I would guess that it was some sort of eating establishment, or bar that served food, at one time or another,” she observed.

Aiken County, longtime home of the federal Savannah River Site, is not a Southern Crescent county but it is adjacent to impoverished Barnwell and Orangeburg counties. Rural areas in Aiken County look much like those in the impoverished areas.

March 18, 2015March 19, 2015

Rusty mailbox, Williamsburg County, S.C.

On S.C. Highway 261 in western Williamsburg County,S.C., this rusty mailbox, though leaning, still serves its purpose, says photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree.

March 12, 2015

Ferrell Store, Salters, S.C.

Country stores like this one in the Salters community of Williamsburg County, S.C., are a dying breed.

Kingstree photographer Linda W. Brown writes that J.A. Ferrell opened a store in his Salters home in 1880.

“Some years later, he built this building on the edge of his property and moved the store operations there. He continued to run the store until his death in 1918. Three other merchants have operated a general store on the premises. The last, Frank Moseley, closed the store in 1990.”

March 9, 2015March 10, 2015

House and field, Williamsburg County, S.C.

Old farm house, Williamsburg County, S.C.

Located in northern Williamsburg County, this old house, with its chimneys beginning to collapse, sits across a field of broom straw from the road, writes Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown.

Across the house, once the bastion of family farms, rural houses like this are as fallow as the fields they surround as people left the country and moved to the city.

March 4, 2015March 5, 2015

Old tobacco barn, Florence County, S.C.

This old tobacco barn in Florence County, just off the Vox Highway, is beginning to lean and is losing its tin as age, sun, wind and rain take their toll, writes Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown.

Copyrighted photo taken Jan. 19, 2015. All rights reserved.

February 21, 2015February 17, 2015

Three modes, Florence County, S.C.

You can spy hints of three three modes of transportation in this December 2014 taken by Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown. There’s a white horse, wagon wheel and old white sports car.

“We here in the country tend to hang on the past,” Brown writes, adding that the photo was taken Dec. 26, 2014, on Highway 341 between Johnsonville and Lake City.

February 19, 2015February 17, 2015

Rehab in the works, Florence County, S.C.

Scene from the Browntown community, Florence County, S.C.

It looks like a rehab is in the works at this old barn in the Browntown community in lower Florence County, writes Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown.

February 16, 2015February 17, 2015

Flat out, Williamsburg County, S.C.

Scene from the Sandy Bay community in Williamsburg County, S.C.

Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown sends a long this “tired, worn-out Farmall tractor, complete with very flat tires, [that] sits beneath a shed in the Sandy Bay community of Williamsburg County.

February 11, 2015February 12, 2015

Store, near Britton’s Neck, S.C.

This old store, located near Britton’s Neck in Marion County, was probably replaced by the convenience store that is now across the road from it, writes photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C. Country stores provided those who lived in rural areas a means of buying staples without having to drive all the way to town.

Marion County, rural in nature, is home to just over 33,000 people. An estimated 23 percent of residents live at or below the federal poverty level.

More on Marion County

February 4, 2015February 5, 2015

Scott’s, Hemingway, S.C.

Scott's Bar-B-Que, Hemingway, S.C. — Scott’s Bar-B-Que, Hemingway, S.C.

Just looking at this picture by Linda W. Brown excites our taste buds because we know from experience that Rodney Scott makes some of the best barbecue ever.

The Williamsburg County joint, located at Brunson’s Crossroads outside Hemingway, S.C., recently was named the most iconic restaurant in South Carolina by ThrillList. You can learn more about Scott’s tasty barbecue here.

Other iconic Southern restaurants on the list, by state:

Alabama: Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Que, Decatur
Arkansas: McClard’s, Hot Springs
Florida: Joe’s Stone Crab, Miami
Georgia: H&H Soul Food, Macon
Kentucky: Jack Fry’s, Louisville
Louisiana: Commander’s Palace, New Orleans
Mississippi: Mayflower Cafe
North Carolina: Skylight Inn, Ayden
Tennessee: Pancake Pantry, Nashville
Virginia: Pierce’s Pitt Bar-B-Que, Williamsburg