New Zion is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Clarendon County,

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 community is located along Puddin Swamp, south of

Turbeville Turbeville is a town in Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 766 at the 2010 census, up from 602 in 2000. Geography and Infrastructure Turbeville is located in northeastern Clarendon County at (33.889433, -80.013 ...

. New Zion has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

with ZIP code 29111, which opened on March 25, 1852.

Education

The town currently has one public school: Walker-Gamble Elementary School, which is part of the Clarendon County School District Four. The town previously had three schools; two public high schools and one all-white private school. Salem High School (an all-white school) was established in 1929 and operated until 1949, when it consolidated with nearby

Gable, South Carolina Gable is an unincorporated community in Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. The community is located along U.S. Route 301, north-northeast of Manning. Gable has a post office with ZIP code 29051, which opened on June 6, 1916. Educa ...

's high school to create Black River High School. The majority of Salem's students were transferred to there. Walker-Gamble High School (an all-black school) was established in 1953 after the consolidation of ten different local church-run schoolhouses and operated until 1970 when it integrated with

East Clarendon High School East Clarendon Middle-High School is a combined public school located in the town of Turbeville, South Carolina. It is a branch of the Clarendon County School District Four. History Before 1948, there were three schools located on the eastern ...

following the

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

ruling. In the summer of 1970, Salem Schools, Incorporated (locally nicknamed as "Salem Academy") was established by local politicians and farmers in response to the mandatory court-ruling. Its school mascot was the

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

. The majority of its first-enrolled students originated from

Turbeville, South Carolina Turbeville is a town in Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 766 at the 2010 census, up from 602 in 2000. Geography and Infrastructure Turbeville is located in northeastern Clarendon County at (33.889433, -80.013 ...

. It had operated until the end of the 1985-1986 school year, when it was shutdown due to both rising maintenance costs and low enrollment numbers. The school building was demolished a few years later and replaced with a

superette A superette is an alternative name for a compact supermarket or "mini-mart". Etymology In French, the ''ette'' ending conveys the idea of a smaller version of a supermarket ('). However, supermarket has been shortened to ''super'' - leaving ...

that was made out of the salvaged bricks. Its sports included baseball, basketball, football, softball and volleyball.

Religion

There are a total of six

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches within the community of New Zion: * Howard Chapel

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

* Lodabar African Methodist Episcopal Church * McKenzie Tabernacle

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Holiness Church * Midway

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

* New Zion

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

* Union Crossroads

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Church

Media

On the afternoon of March 29, 2019, a pair of turkey hunters were scouting a cornfield when they discovered the body of 21-year-old

Samantha Josephson Samantha (or the alternatively Samanta) is primarily used as a feminine given name. It was recorded in England in 1633 in Newton Regis, Warwickshire. It was also recorded in the 18th century in New England, but its etymology is uncertain. Specul ...

, a student at the University of South Carolina that was last seen earlier that morning outside of a bar in downtown

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

stepping into a black car that she thought was the

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...

ride that she had ordered. The following day, 24-year-old Nathaniel David Rowland, a town resident, was arrested and charged with her kidnapping and murder after Clarendon County police had pulled him over to inspect his car that appeared to match the given description of the other car. On July 27, 2021, he was found guilty for both offenses and was sentenced to life in prison. The incident had not only attracted national attention and led to discussion about the dangers of ridesharing and the importance of ensuring that a rideshare car is being driven by a registered driver prior to entering, but it had led to the creation of Sami's Law in her native

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Notable people

Marie Deans Susan Marie Deans (June 8, 1940 – April 15, 2011) was an American anti-death penalty activist who was committed to finding attorneys for men who were facing execution without legal representation. Marie's work began on death row began in South C ...

(1940-2011) - Anti-death penalty activist * Nathaniel Rowland (1994-present) - Murderer of

References

Unincorporated communities in Clarendon County, South Carolina Unincorporated communities in South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-geo-stub