The Center for a Better South
This stable on Cedar Swamp Road in Williamsburg County, S.C., used to be home to a large number of horses, photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree remembers. Now, only a handful of horses can be seen grazing in surrounding fields.
Photo is copyrighted by Linda W. Brown, June 2014. 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.
A cotton picker stands in the middle of a cotton field on S.C. Highway 261 in western Williamsburg County. Photo taken by Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C., on Dec. 21, 2014. All rights reserved.
While country stores seem to be dying out in the rural South, Workman Grocery at Workman Crossroads on S.C. Highway 527 in Williamsburg County, S.C., still is in operation, says photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree.
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.
Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown taken in September 2013. 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.
Copyrighted photo taken in 2014 by Linda W. Brown All rights reserved.
Former editor Linda W. Brown found this old building with fastened green shutters near Workman Crossroads in western Williamsburg County, S.C.
UPDATE: We first ran this picture on Oct. 1, 2013, and offer it today to steer you to a brand new section of the BEST pictures of the Southern Crescent project. Click here and you can find more than 30 of the most compelling images that we’ve offered since we got started more than 18 months ago.
“I’m not sure if this was an old store that had a shed added to it or exactly what its function was,” Brown wrote. “I think it’s a pretty cool old building, whatever its purpose was earlier in its life.”
We wholeheartedly agree. Old buildings like this can be found across the rural South on farmland that has gone fallow and where tenant families moved on a generation or two ago. Or in small towns near railroad tracks that no longer carry trains.
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.
Copyrighted photo taken on Sept. 27, 2013 by Linda W. Brown All rights reserved.
An equipment shed sits on the back of a plowed field in rural Williamsburg County. writes Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown.
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.
Copyrighted photo by Linda W. Brown, taken in June 2014. All rights reserved.
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.
Copyrighted June 2014 photo by Linda W. Brown, courtesy of the photographer. All rights reserved.
Overlooking nothing but fields, the Genesis Variety Store & Diner in northeastern Williamsburg County, S.C., posts its menu beside the front door, with breakfast including grits, country ham sandwiches and waffles, writes Kingstree photographer Linda W. Brown. Later in the day, the store offers barbecue, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and onion rings among its tasty offerings.
Copyrighted photo taken August 2014, by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.
This old nightclub in rural Lane, S.C., in southern Williamsburg County has a large tree growing through its awning. Photographer Linda W. Brown of nearby Kingstree observes that in many towns, the tree would have been cut down to make way for business, but the two co-exist in Lane, once was a thriving railroad town where few businesses remain today.
Copyrighted photo taken in June 2014, by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.