census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, United States. The population was 2,614 at the 2010 census. It lies along
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
Horse Creek Valley
Horse Creek Valley is a geographic area along Horse Creek, a tributary of the Savannah River. It lies within present-day Aiken County, South Carolina (prior to 1872, in Edgefield District / Edgefield County). The area is alternately referred to a ...
, which originates in the nearby town of
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area
The Augusta metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina centered on the principal city of Augusta. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Census Bureau and other agencies define Augusta's Met ...
, also known as the C.S.R.A. or
Central Savannah River Area
The Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) is a Media market, trading and marketing region in the U.S. states of Georgia (U.S. State), Georgia and South Carolina, spanning fourteen counties in Georgia and seven in South Carolina. The term was coined ...
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
in what became known as Graniteville. His paternalistic
mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe
Italy
* ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...
included 90 homes, several boarding houses, six stores, two churches, and a school for the mill workers and their families. The community got its name because most of those original buildings were constructed of blue
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
. Gregg required the children of mill workers to attend the public school he instituted, and violators were fined. As such, Graniteville holds the distinction of having the first compulsory education system in the Southern United States.
The Graniteville Historic District was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1978.
On January 6, 2005, a
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
freight train struck a parked train on the spur leading to Avondale's Stevens Steam Plant. One of two train cars that were carrying liquid
chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...
ruptured, releasing a poisonous chlorine cloud. Nine people were killed, more than 550 injured, and more than 5,400 were displaced from their homes for more than a week. The town built a memorial in a small park at the intersection of Canal Street and Aiken Road, and on May 20, 2006, the memorial was dedicated to the people who died in the crash.
In 2008, there were talks about incorporating the villages of Graniteville,
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Warrenville; as a result, the towns approved a referendum to vote on whether or not to incorporate. If approved, the municipality would have had an area of around . The referendum was defeated by a two-to-one margin in August 2008.
Economy
Until 1996, Graniteville was the home office and central location of a collection of
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
plants in South Carolina and Georgia known as The Graniteville Company. In 1996, the company was bought out by
Avondale Mills
The Avondale Mills were a system of textile mills located predominantly in Alabama, but also in Georgia and South Carolina, with headquarters in Birmingham, and later in Sylacauga, Alabama. The Birmingham neighborhood of Avondale was chosen to be t ...
, a company which was one of the largest
denim
Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been pr ...
manufacturers in the United States. Avondale closed or sold off all of its plants in the area in 2006, unable to recover financially from the train accident in 2005. Graniteville is also home to a
Bridgestone
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...
/
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company founded by Harvey Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled ...
plant.
A continuing legacy of The Graniteville Company is the Gregg-Graniteville Foundation, which was established by the company in 1941 in honor of Mr. Gregg. To continue his concern for people, the Foundation awards annual college scholarships and other charitable contributions. Gregg Park Civic Center, a recreational complex, has services offered to community residents at a nominal charge. The Foundation funds the complex which includes a walking track, softball and baseball fields, tennis courts, swimming area, picnic area. The gym includes a basketball court, weight room, exercise room, racquetball courts, locker rooms and showers.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 2,439 people, 1,220 households, and 810 families residing in the CDP.
2010 census
As of 2010, the total population of the CDP was 2,614. 0.65% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.04% were Asian, 28.62% were African American, 0.08% were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 65.26% were white, 2.83% were some other race, and 2.52% were of two or more races. People of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) were 5.93% of the population.
Males were 47.59% of the population, and females were 52.41%. The age distribution of the population was 9.45% under 5 years of age, 18.06% 5 to 17 years, 57.46% 18 to 64 years, and 15.03% age 65 and over.