Greenwood County is a county located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 = ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 69,351. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Greenwood. Among the 22 counties located in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

of the state, Greenwood County is coterminous with the Greenwood, SC, Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In the colonial years, English and Scots traders from Charles Town (later known as Charleston) were the first Europeans to make regular forays into this back country, part of the traditional territory of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Nation, which had numerous towns on the upper tributaries of the Savannah River, especially along the Keowee River. Their territory extended into modern western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northeastern Georgia. The traders called this route in South Carolina the "Cherokee Path." The trade in deerskins was highly lucrative, and traders passed on information among them about landmarks and the distances to their customers in the Nation. They estimated mileage between streams based on their day's travel. They noted unusual aspects, such as the six creeks that ran unexpectedly south away from the

Saluda River The Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi (320 km) long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States. Via the Congaree River, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which fl ...

and, further west, nine creeks that ran south away from the Savannah River, noting them on maps as "6" and "9". A town in this area and a district both became known as "Ninety-Six", which historian David P. George believes is related to traders' references to these two landmark groups of streams. Using historical accounts and

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

maps, he and other historians have traced the Cherokee Path across present-day Greenwood County, territory that at the time was part of other districts.via JSTOR After the Cherokee were removed from the area through treaty cessions and Indian Removal, European Americans moved in, developing large cotton plantations that were dependent on the labor of enslaved Africans. This upland region of the Piedmont supported widespread cultivation of short-staple cotton, a variety made profitable by the late 18th-century invention of the cotton gin for processing it. Cotton was the chief commodity of the South before the Civil War, and was important afterward as well. The construction of the

Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad The Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad began in 1852 and operated until 1869, when it was absorbed by Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad. The line ran between Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina. It was the first carri ...

in 1852 in this area enabled planters to more easily get their products to market. The railway also stimulated the development of textile manufacturing in the Piedmont in the late nineteenth century. Previously most cotton had been shipped to the North (New York and New England) for processing and manufacture, or to England and Europe. The rise of textile manufacturing in the South altered the economy and society of the region. The first cotton mill in Greenwood opened in 1890 with 75 workers. (As labor was highly segregated, factory owners hired only white workers for decades.) When the mill nearly failed in 1908, James C. Self became president of Greenwood Cotton Mill and built one of the largest privately held companies in the industry. Abney Mills, based in Greenwood, developed more production plants across the upstate. Greenwood County was formed in 1897 from portions of

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

and Edgefield counties, which had originally been part of the old Ninety-Six District. It was named for its county seat, Greenwood. The town was named around 1824 after a cotton plantation owned by John McGehee, an early resident. The county and region has continued to be agricultural in the 21st century, although crops have changed. In the late nineteenth century, conservative white Democrats had continued efforts to suppress black voting, through fraud and violence. Beginning with Mississippi in 1890, state legislatures passed new constitutions and laws that essentially disenfranchised most blacks. They maintained this political exclusion for decades, weakening the Republican Party throughout the South, where it had chiefly attracted freedmen and their descendants. South Carolina passed such a constitution in 1895 but violence continued around elections as African Americans tried to vote for Republican candidates. White Democrats were determined to regain power after a fusionist ticket had been elected at the state level. In November 1898 the Phoenix Election riot broke out, after an armed altercation at the polling place. The Republican Congressional candidate was Rhett R. Tolbert. He came from a major planter family in the area. His brother Thomas P. Jr, was collecting affidavits in Phoenix from African Americans who wanted to vote for Tolbert but had been prevented from doing so. Democrat Giels O. Ethridge, came from a polling place two miles away and confronted him. Ethridge was fatally shot; blacks were accused of killing him. White Democrats attacked Republican Thomas Tolbert and African Americans with him, wounding them seriously. (Tolbert later said that Ethridge was shot by his own people.) John R. Tolbert, their father, was also wounded, and he and another son Joseph fled to Charleston, where the senior Tolbert was US customs officer of the port. Violence took place throughout the Phoenix area for four days, with armed groups of whites coming from around the county to hunt down black suspects. A mob of 600-1000 armed white men had gathered in Phoenix before events ended. Several African-American men were killed; at least six were lynched near Rehoboth Church. An inquest concluded their deaths were from "persons unknown." This region continued to depend on agriculture, which was struggling. Cotton crops throughout the South were damaged by the

boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growin ...

. Many African Americans left this and other rural counties in the early 20th century in the Great Migration from 1910 to 1940, to escape Jim Crow suppression and violence, and gain jobs in industrial cities of the North and Midwest. The Great Depression of the 1930s altered the economy and landscape of Greenwood County. Farmers were impoverished, and land values declined. As local textile mills struggled to survive, they resisted union efforts to organize the workers. After 1933, New Deal programs of the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

administration offered limited work relief for the unemployed, as the federal government invested in numerous local infrastructure programs to provide jobs and build for the future. The largest New Deal project in the area was construction of Buzzard's Roost Dam on the

to impound Lake Greenwood and generate electricity at a county-owned power plant. Since then, the county sold the hydroelectric plant to Duke Power Company, which dominates the regional market. The lake offers residents and visitors an array of recreational facilities. Since 1950, Greenwood County has developed a diversified industrial base. New factories have been constructed by such major corporations as Monsanto (Ascend), Velux, Capsugel (Lonza) and Fujifilm.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. Greenwood County is in the basins of the Savannah and the Saluda rivers.

National protected areas/sites

* Ninety Six National Historic Site *

Sumter National Forest The Sumter National Forest is one of two forests in South Carolina that are managed together by the United States Forest Service, the other being the Francis Marion National Forest. The Sumter National Forest consists of which are divided into 3 ...

(part)

State and local protected areas

* Lake Greenwood State Park * Long Cane Scenic Area

Major water bodies

* Halfway Swamp Creek * Lake Greenwood *

Adjacent counties

* Laurens County - north * Newberry County - northeast * Edgefield County - southeast * Saluda County - southeast * McCormick County - southwest * Abbeville County - west

Transportation

Major highways

* * (Greenwood) * (Ware Shoals) * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Airport

* Greenwood County Airport

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 69,351 people, 28,544 households, and 17,855 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, there were 69,661 people, 27,547 households, and 18,438 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 31,054 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.9% white, 31.4% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 3.5% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.4% were of African descent, 17.8% identified as American, 8.7% as of English descent, 8.2% as ethnic

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and 8.0% as German. Of the 27,547 households, 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age was 37.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $38,797 and the median income for a family was $49,785. Males had a median income of $36,806 versus $29,327 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,728. About 12.8% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 27.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 66,271 people, 25,729 households, and 17,753 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 146 people per square mile (56/km²). There were 28,243 housing units at an average density of 62 per square mile (24/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.57%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 31.74%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.03% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.74% from two or more races. 2.87% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. There were 25,729 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.70% were married couples living together, 16.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.50% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 88.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,702, and the median income for a family was $42,022. Males had a median income of $30,759 versus $23,820 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $17,446. About 9.90% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the

, including 17.70% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Leath Correctional Institution Leath Correctional Institution (LCIW) is a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison for women located in unincorporated Greenwood County, South Carolina, near Greenwood. Leath opened in 1991. It is located just east of the Greenwood Count ...

, a

South Carolina Department of Corrections The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) is the agency responsible for corrections in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It currently has about 4,500 employees and just over 15,000 inmates, in 21 institutions. The agency has its headqu ...

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

for women, is located in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Greenwood County, near Greenwood.

Economy

Greenwood County has developed a modern and diverse economic base.

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from the ...

has its North American headquarters here for research and development, plus manufacturing and distribution. The Greenwood Genetic Center conducts nationally recognized genetics research. Approximately 26% of the local workforce is dedicated to

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

. In 2015, the median household income in Greenwood County, SC was $37,060, a 2.82% increase from the previous year. Also in 2015, 28,506 residents in Greenwood County, SC were employed, a 1.03% growth over 2014. The most common employment sectors for residents of Greenwood County are Manufacturing, Healthcare & Social Assistance, and Retail trade. The overall cost of living index in Greenwood County, SC, is 83, which is 13% lower than the South Carolina average and 17% lower than the national average. The cost of living index is created from the following categories: goods/services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). The cost of everyday goods and services can be a good indicator of the general cost of goods in a given city. In this case, the cost of such goods and services in Greenwood is 7% lower than the South Carolina average and 6% lower than the national average. Major employers in Greenwood County include Self Regional Healthcare, Greenwood County School Districts, Eaton Corporation,

FujiFilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from the ...

Manufacturing, U.S.A.; Carolina Pride, Capsugel, Lander University, Piedmont Technical College,

Cardinal Health Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland (EMEA). The company specializes in ...

, Ascend Performance Materials, and VELUX. Major existing industry clusters include Life Sciences, Food Processing, Advance Materials, and Wood Products. The per capita personal income in Greenwood County, SC as of 2015 was $33,723. The Unemployment rate in Greenwood County, SC was 4.0% as of Sept 2017. The median household income in Greenwood County was $42,240 as of 2015.

Education

Greenwood County has three school districts: Greenwood School District 50 (Greenwood Metro), Greenwood School District 51 (Ware Shoals), and Greenwood School District 52 (Ninety Six).

School districts

* Greenwood School District 50 serves families in the Greenwood metro area. This school system consists of 8 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 2 high schools, a career center, and an adult education center. The current superintendent of District 50 is Dr. Darrell Johnson. * Greenwood School District 51 serves families in the town of Ware Shoals, as well as students from surrounding areas of Greenwood, Abbeville, and Laurens counties. Two of the three schools are located in the town limits of Ware Shoals (Greenwood County) while the other school is located in Laurens County. * Greenwood School District 52 serves families in the town of Ninety Six and surrounding areas of Greenwood County.

Elementary schools

* Hodges Elementary School (K-5) * Lakeview Elementary School(K4-5) * Mathews Elementary School (K4-5) * Merrywood Elementary School (K4-5) * Ninety Six Elementary School (3-5) * Ninety Six Primary School (K4-2) * Pinecrest Elementary School (K4-5) * Rice Elementary School (K4-5) * Benjamin E. Mays Elementary School (K4-5) * Ware Shoals Elementary School (4-6) * Ware Shoals Primary School (PreK-3) * Woodfields Elementary School (K4-5)

Middle schools

* Brewer Middle School (6-8) * Edgewood Middle School (6-8) * Northside Middle School (6-8) * Westview Middle School (6-8)

High schools

* Emerald High School (9-12) * Greenwood High School (9-12) * Ninety Six High School (9-12) * Ware Shoals High School (7-12)

Higher education

* Lander University (4-Year State Supported Liberal Arts University) * Piedmont Technical College

Alternate education centers

* G. Frank Russell Career Center (9-12) * Genesis Education Center (7-12) and Adult Education

Communities

City

* Greenwood (county seat and largest city)

Towns

* Hodges * Ninety Six *

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

* Ware Shoals (partly in

and Laurens Counties)

Census-designated places

Some communities in the county are census designated places.Chapter 2. Introduction.
The Greenwood City/County Comprehensive Plan 2010. Accessed 9 February 2022. *

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

- the intersection of U.S. Highway 221 and S.C. Highway 10 * Cokesbury - the intersection of S.C. Highway 254, S.C. Highway 702, and U.S. Highway 25 * Coronaca - the intersection of S.C. Highway 702 and U.S. Highway 221 * Promised Land - along S.C. Highway 10 near the Abbeville County Line

Unincorporated communities

Some communities in the county are unincorporated. * Callison - the intersection of S.C. Highway 67 and Phoenix Road * Epworth - the intersection of U.S. Highway 178 and S.C. Highway 248 * Kirksey - the intersection of U.S. Highway 25 and Martin Town Road * Phoenix - the intersection of Phoenix Road and Damascus Church Road * Pittsburg * Shoals Junction - U.S. Highway 178 and the Abbeville County Line * Verdery - along S.C. Highway 10 at Cedar Springs Road

Townships

In the past, Greenwood County was partitioned into

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

, including the townships of Bradley (including Bradley town), Brooks, Callison, Cokesbury (including Cokesbury town), Coronaca (including Coronaca town), Fellowship, Greenwood (with three partitions in the 1900 census – Greenwood east of the Columbia and Greenville Railroad, Greenwood west of the railroad, and Greenwood town),Greenwood County, South Carolina
1900 Federal Census Team Transcription, USGenWeb Census Project. Accessed 9 February 2022. Hodges (including Hodges town), Kinards, Kirksey, Ninety Six (including Ninety Six town), Phoenix, Troy (including Troy town), Verdery (including Verdery town), Walnut Grove and Yeldell. Their former names and boundaries were used for United States census counting purposes and census documentation through 1960, after which Census Counting Divisions (CCDs) were used.

References

External links

Official Greenwood County website
* {{authority control 1897 establishments in South Carolina Populated places established in 1897

History

Geography

National protected areas/sites

State and local protected areas

Major water bodies

Adjacent counties

Transportation

Major highways

Airport

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 census

Government and politics

Economy

Education

School districts

Elementary schools

Middle schools

High schools

Higher education

Alternate education centers

Communities

City

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

References

External links