Newberry is a city in Newberry 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, in the Piedmont northwest of Columbia. The charter was adopted in 1894. The population was 10,277 at the 2010 census. It is 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 ...

of Newberry County; at one time it was called Newberry Courthouse. Newberry became a city in 1976, but did not report the change to the

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

for more than twenty-five years. As a result, the city was listed as a town in the 2000 census. It is the home of

Newberry College Newberry College is a private Lutheran college in Newberry, South Carolina. As of 2023, it had 1,521 students. Academics Newberry College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) ...

, a private liberal-arts college affiliated with the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

Geography

Newberry is located at (34.277655, -81.616560). 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 had a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²), all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,691 people, 4,047 households, and 2,233 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 10,580 people, 3,970 households, and 2,528 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 4,388 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 52.85%

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 ...

, 41.36%

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 ...

, 0.47% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.12%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.88% from other races, and 1.70% 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 9.49% of the population. There were 3,970 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.97. In the town the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,064, and the median income for a family was $33,490. Males had a median income of $28,681 versus $20,887 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 $14,389. About 23.8% of families and 28.0% 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 39.9% of those under age 18 and 21.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

European settlers (primarily German, Scots-Irish, and English) began arriving in great numbers in the 1750s. Newberry County was formed from the Ninety-Six District in 1785. Because of its central location, the town of Newberry was chosen in 1789 as the county seat for Newberry County, which was part of an extensive area of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

s. County and town politics were dominated by planters. By the coming of the railroad in 1851, Newberry had become a thriving trade center. This remained the case until the 1860s. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

was used as a hospital for

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

and later Union troops. The historic Newberry Court House was not burned by

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

's troops as he swept through the South. Violent racial incidents hit all over the country as part of the 1919 Red Summer. On July 24, 1919 there was the attempted lynching of Elisha Harper of Newberry. Harper was sent to jail for insulting a 14-year-old girl.

National Register of Historic Places

The following buildings 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 ...

: * Boundary Street-Newberry Cotton Mills Historic District * Burton House, Caldwell Street Historic District * Coateswood * College Street Historic District * Cousins House * Hannah Rosenwald School * Harrington Street Historic District * Francis B. Higgins House * Main Street Historic District * George Mower House * Newberry College Historic District * Newberry County Memorial Hospital * Newberry Historic District * Newberry Opera House * Oakland Mill * Old Courthouse * Ike Reighley House * Summer Brothers Stores * Timberhouse * Vincent Street Historic District * Wells Japanese Garden * Osborne Wells House * West Boundary Street Historic District

Education

Newberry 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 Newberry County Library System.

Notable people

* Coleman Livingston Blease (1868–1942), politician of the Democratic Party * Eugene Satterwhite Blease, 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.

* Trevor Booker (b. 1987), former professional

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player for

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

* Lenny Cooper (b. 1988), country rapper * Carl "CJ" Edwards Jr. (b. 1991), professional baseball pitcher for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

* Jordan Hill (b. 1987), former professional basketball player for

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

* Mickey Livingston (1914–1983), professional baseball catcher for

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

* Billy O'Dell (1933–2018), professional baseball player for

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

* Ralph Rowe (1924–1996), baseball player, manager and coach * Richard Sligh (1944–2008), professional football player for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, tallest player in pro football history * Henry McNeal Turner (1834–1915), minister, politician, bishop of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

(AME), and Georgia state legislator * Reggie Taylor (b. 1977), professional baseball

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

References

External links

City of Newberry

The Newberry ObserverNewberry Oktoberfest

Visit Newberry, SC

Newberry College
*
Newberry Opera House

The Ritz Theater
* {{authority control Cities in Newberry County, South Carolina Cities in South Carolina County seats in South Carolina Columbia metropolitan area (South Carolina)