Johnston is a town in Edgefield 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 2,362 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia, metropolitan area. The town's official welcome sign states that it is "Peach Capital of the World".

History

Johnston is called The Hub of the Ridge because it is located at the meeting place of the three river systems which flow away from the Ridge, a fertile plateau about long between clay hills to the north and sand hills to the south. The area has been settled since the mid-1700s. In 1791 as

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

traveled through the area on his triumphal tour through the country, he stopped at the Lott family plantation, just east of Johnston. In the late 1860s, the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad expanded westward from Columbia to Augusta. Edward Jones Mims, M.D., persuaded William Johnston, president of the railroad, to run the railroad through the Mims plantation. In return, Dr. Mims agreed to name the new town for Mr. Johnston. In the early 1900s, the

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

industry became successful in this area. Today, the Ridge produces about 60 percent of South Carolina's peaches. Johnston is proclaimed to be the "Peach Capitol of the World."

Geography

Johnston is located in eastern Edgefield County at (33.831927, -81.802304). South Carolina Highway 23 passes through the center of town as Calhoun Street, leading southwest to Edgefield, 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 ...

, and northeast to Ward. South Carolina Highway 121 (Lee Street) crosses SC 23 at the town center, leading north to Saluda and south to Trenton. 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 , of which is land and , or 3.15%, is water.

Demographics

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 2,473 people, 923 households, and 635 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,012 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 35.92%

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 ...

, 62.63%

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 ...

, 0.26% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.68% 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 1.33% of the population. Johnston SC Sign

There were 923 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% 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, 22.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.12. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $25,570, and the median income for a family was $29,531. Males had a median income of $25,521 versus $19,572 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 $12,671. About 21.2% of families and 23.9% 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 28.9% of those under age 18 and 20.8% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

According to the 2010 census, the town had a population of 2,362. Of which, 1,481 (62.70%) were Black or African American, 845 (35.77%) were White, 18 (0.76%) were two or more races, 11 (0.47%) were some other race, 4 (0.17%) were Asian, 3 (0.13%) were American Indian or Alaska Native. 43 (1.82%) were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,997 people, 811 households, and 531 families residing in the town.

Education

Johnston Elementary School is part of the Edgefield County School District and serves grades K-5. Other schools include Strom Thurmond High School, Johnston-Edgefield- Trenton (JET) Middle School, W.E.Parker Elementary Schools, and a private school called Francis Hugh Wardlaw Academy. Johnston 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.

References

External links

Official page
{{authority control Towns in Edgefield County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina Augusta metropolitan area