Estill is a town in Hampton County,

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 2,040 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Estill is located north of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, northwest of Hilton Head Island and west of Charleston. The major industries are timber and agriculture.

History

The town of Estill is located in the southern half of Hampton County. The town is named for Colonel John Holbrook Estill. Estill was formed in 1900 when the railroad, later

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

, needed a rail line between

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

and

. Upon construction of the rail line, the new town of Estill was incorporated in 1905. The John Lawton House and Lawtonville Baptist Church 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 ...

. Federal Correctional Institution, Estill is located near the town.

2020 Tornado

In the early morning hours of April 13, 2020, a large, violent EF4

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

struck areas just south of Estill. The tornado (which packed winds of 175 MPH) killed 5 and injured around 60 people. The nearby community of Nixville, South Carolina suffered a direct hit from the tornado, and sustained the brunt of the twister's impacts. The Federal Correctional Institution, Estill also sustained damage, resulting in many of the prison's inmates being temporarily transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Williamsport and north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The population was 5,158 as of the United States Census 202 ...

. The tornado was the first violent tornado in

since 1995.

Education

There are three schools in the town: Estill Middle, and Estill Elementary, all of which are a part of Hampton County's School District 2, and Patrick Henry Academy, a private school.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,821 people, 889 households, and 620 families residing in the town.

2010 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 2010, there were 2,040 people, residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 16.0%

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 ...

, 77.7%

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 ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.1% from other races, and 0.7% 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 4.8% of the population. There were 909 households, in which 79.5% were occupied and 20.5% were vacant. In the town, the population was comprised by 30.8% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 20 to 29, 10.3% from 30 to 39, 12.0% from 40 to 49, and 12.6% from 50 to 59, 11.9% from 60 to 69 and 10.85% over 69 years old.

Government

Kim Wiley, Mayor of Estill, is the first woman to hold the office.

Notable people

* Benny Gordon, (1932–2008), singer * Hilda Grayson Finney (1913–1976), educator

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Hampton County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina 1900 establishments in South Carolina