Bamberg is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Bamberg County, South Carolina Bamberg County is a county located in the southwestern portion of U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,311, making the rural county the fourth-least populous of any in South Carolina. Its county seat is B ...

, United States. The population was 3,607 at the 2010 census.

History

Bamberg is named after early resident William Seaborn Bamberg. Members of the Bamberg family continue to live in the county to this day. The Bamberg City Hall, Bamberg Historic District, Bamberg Post Office, Gen. Francis Marion Bamberg House, Cal Smoak Site, and Woodlands are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In 2007, the main street was widened, and a series of iron railings were added to the sidewalks on the street, as part of an improvement scheme for the area. The then County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director stated "It will be a major boost to the economy for the county and downtown Bamberg.”

Urbanist Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban a ...

advocates, such as Strong Towns, later attributed the use of railings blocking pedestrian street crossings as the reason why a large number of businesses on the main street later went out of business. Several buildings on the main street were damaged by fire in 2019, and the city announced plans in 2021 to demolish these buildings and "revitalize" the area, adding green space and making the area more walkable. An EF2 tornado heavily damaged the downtown area of Bamberg on January 9, 2024.

Geography

Bamberg is located at (33.298440, -81.031903). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.34%, is water.

Major highways

* * * *

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,076 people, 1,311 households, and 684 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,733 people, 1,383 households, and 923 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,537 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 45.22%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 53.58%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.21% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 0.48% of the population. There were 1,383 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 25.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,736, and the median income for a family was $28,309. Males had a median income of $38,068 versus $20,815 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,512. About 21.4% of families and 28.3% 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 ...

, including 37.2% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in Bamberg is administered by Bamberg County School District, which has included all of the county since 2022. The district operates Richard Carroll Elementary School, Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle School and Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School. Prior to 2022, Bamberg was in Bamberg School District One. Bamberg has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the ABBE Regional Library System.

Notable people

* Justin Bamberg, state representative, and attorney in 2015 police killing of Walter Scott * Da'Quan Bowers, former football player for

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, defensive end in the NFL * A. J. Cann, offensive lineman for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and former Bamberg-Ehrhardt standout * Zack Godley, Major League baseball pitcher *

Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

(2011-2017),

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the United States Mission to the United Nations, U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the Permanent representative to the U ...

(2017–2018), and 2024 presidential candidate * Julius B. "Bubba" Ness, former Chief Justice of the

South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.

* Mickey Pruitt, NFL linebacker * Cecil T. Sandifer, funeral director and South Carolina state legislator * Ricky Sapp, former NFL football player * Rodney Wallace, three-time State Champion in wrestling; former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

light heavyweight fighter and current

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

* Mookie Wilson, Major League baseball player,

1986 World Series The 1986 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 Major League Baseball season, 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Lea ...

champion * Preston Wilson, Major League baseball player

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Bamberg has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Bamberg, South Carolina
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References

External links

Bamberg City
{{authority control Cities in Bamberg County, South Carolina Cities in South Carolina