Cowpens is a town in

Spartanburg County Spartanburg County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 327,997, making it the fifth-most populous county in South Carolina. Its county seat is Spartanbu ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, United States. The population was 2,162 at the 2010 census. The town was chartered February 20, 1880, and was incorporated in 1900.

History

The community was named on account of pens for cattle near the original town site. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the

Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces, estimated at 2,000 militia and reg ...

was fought on January 17, 1781, resulting in a decisive victory for American Patriot forces over British troops commanded by

Banastre Tarleton General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British military officer and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolutionary War. He lat ...

. The battle site is preserved at

Cowpens National Battlefield Cowpens National Battlefield is a unit of the National Park Service just east of Chesnee, South Carolina, and near the state line with North Carolina. It preserves a major battlefield of the American Revolutionary War. Brigadier General Danie ...

, located north of town in Cherokee County, near the town of Chesnee. Two ships of the U.S. Navy have been named in honor of the battle. The Cowpens Depot, built in 1896, was 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 1997.

Geography

Cowpens is located at (35.016181, -81.804240). It lies in the upland

Carolina Piedmont The Piedmont ( ) is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It is situated between the Atlantic Plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont Province is ...

region, approximately 9 mi (15 km) from the center of the county seat,

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

. 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 town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,023 people, 843 households, and 537 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 2,279 people, 922 households, and 639 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 991 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 75.65%

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 ...

, 21.37%

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 2.06% from other races, and 0.79% 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 of any race were 3.25% of the population. There were 922 households, of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% 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 3.00. Age distribution of the population: 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,815, and the median income for a family was $39,387. Males had a median income of $35,978 versus $22,778 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 town was $14,847. About 15.6% of families and 17.8% 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 19.4% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Spartanburg School District 3.
Text list
/ref> Cowpens has a

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

, a branch of the Spartanburg County Public Library.

References

External links

Town of Cowpens
{{authority control Towns in Spartanburg County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina