McClellanville is a small fishing

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in rural Charleston 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 605 at the 2020 census. It is situated on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast, on land surrounded by

Francis Marion National Forest The Francis Marion National Forest is located north of Charleston, South Carolina. It is named for revolutionary war hero Francis Marion, who was known to the British as the Swamp Fox. It lies entirely within the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ...

, and has traditionally derived its livelihood from the Atlantic Ocean and coastal marshes by

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

ing and

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

ing. McClellanville is part of the

Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area The Charleston metropolitan area is an urban area centered around Charleston, South Carolina. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statis ...

and the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area.

History

McClellanville village began in the late 1860s when local plantation owners A.J. McClellan and R.T. Morrison sold lots in the vicinity of Jeremy Creek to planters of the Santee Delta, who sought relief from summer fevers. The first store opened soon after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, and the village became the social and economic center for a wide area that produced timber, rice, cotton, naval stores, and seafoods. Incorporated in 1926, McClellanville became, and remains, best known for its shrimping fleet and seafood industries. In 1989 the town was devastated by the full brunt of Hurricane Hugo which destroyed homes, downed century-old oaks, deposited shrimp boats in front yards, and otherwise altered much of the picturesque character of this historic fishing village. The stronger north side of the eyewall passed directly over the village while a Category 4 hurricane. Residents taking refuge in the local high school, a designated storm shelter, were surprised by a storm surge which threatened to drown the refugees. Helping one another in complete darkness, they managed to crawl into a space above the false ceilings of the building and none were lost. The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Cape Romain Lighthouses, Fairfield Plantation, Hampton Plantation, Harrietta Plantation, McClellanville Historic District, Wedge Plantation, and Old Georgetown Road 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 ...

Geography

McClellanville is located in northeastern Charleston County at (33.088953,-79.467287). U.S. Route 17 passes along the northwestern edge of the town, leading northeast to Georgetown and southwest to Charleston. 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 ...

, McClellanville has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.02%, is water. Jeremy Creek, a tidal inlet, runs through the center of the town, and the town limits extend south to the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...

, adjacent to Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 605 people, 222 households, and 149 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 459 people, 206 households, and 138 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 254 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 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 ...

and 7.14%

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 ...

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 2.18% of the population. There were 206 households, out of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% 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, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.75. In the town, the population was spread out, with 16.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 36.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,500, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $36,750 versus $25,781 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 $22,425. About 8.3% of families and 11.8% 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 21.8% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The city is run by an elected

mayor–council government A mayor–council government is a system of local government in which a mayor who is directly elected by the voters acts as chief executive, while a separately elected city council constitutes the legislative body. It is one of the two most comm ...

system.

Mayor

Rutledge B. Leland III

Council members

Aaron Baldwin, Robert J. Gannon, Chris B Bates, James E. Scott IV.

Education

Charleston County School District operates district public schools serving McClellanville. St. James-Santee Elementary School is in McClellanville. Lincoln High School was in McClellanville but closed in 2015. In 2016 school district staff stated that they were considering having a new Lincoln High constructed in Awendaw. Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School (CREECS) is a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

in McClellanville.Home
Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School. Retrieved on December 11, 2016.

Notable people

* Duff Holbrook, wildlife biologist and forestry expert, reintroduced

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

to much of South Carolina. * Archibald Rutledge, first poet laureate of South Carolina and prolific author.

References

External links

Town of McClellanville official website

Hampton Plantation State Park
to the north of town {{authority control Towns in Charleston County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville metropolitan area Populated coastal places in South Carolina