Pageland is a town in Chesterfield 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. It is the second largest town in Chesterfield County. The population was 2,760 at the 2010 census. Pageland is widely known for the annual Pageland Watermelon Festival that has been held in July annually since 1951. The watermelon is an important staple in Pageland's community in history. In 1952, Pageland adopted the title of "The

Watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

Capital of the World." Many of the town's benches and business display watermelons and Pageland's

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

features a watermelon painted on the tank.

Geography

Pageland is located in northwestern Chesterfield County at (34.771272, -80.391630). U.S. Route 601 passes through the town, leading north to

Monroe, North Carolina Monroe is a city in and the county seat of Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population increased from 32,797 in 2010 United States census, 2010 to 34,551 in 2020 United States census, 2020. It is within the rapidly growing Charlot ...

, and southwest to Kershaw.

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, is to the northwest via US 601 and US 74.

South Carolina Highway 9 South Carolina Highway 9 (SC 9) is a major state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The highway travels from Cherry Grove Beach to the North Carolina state line upstate. The highway is currently the longest state highway ...

leads east from Pageland to Chesterfield and west to Lancaster. South Carolina Highway 151 leads south to Jefferson. 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 ...

, Pageland has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.97%, is water.

Neighboring towns

– north * Mount Croghan, South Carolina – east * Jefferson, South Carolina – south *

Lancaster, South Carolina The city of Lancaster () is the county seat of Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States, located in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 8,526. The city was named after the famou ...

– west

Major highways

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,456 people, 1,019 households, and 647 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 2,521 people, 964 households, and 641 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,071 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 54.34%

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 ...

, 35.82%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 7.22% from other races, and 1.35% 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 8.77% of the population. There were 964 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,046, and the median income for a family was $33,214. Males had a median income of $24,826 versus $18,452 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 $15,190. About 21.5% of families and 24.1% 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 37.2% of those under age 18 and 25.4% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

, Pageland is located in South Carolina's 53rd House district and is represented by Republican Richie Yow. In the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina State Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at ...

, Pageland is located in Senate district 27 and represented by Penry Gustafson.

Education

Public education in Pageland is administered by Chesterfield County School District. The district operates Petersburg Primary School, Pageland Elementary School, New Heights Middle School, and Central High School. South Pointe Christian School, a private Christian school, operates in Pageland. It includes classes for preschool through high school. Northeastern Technical College, part of the South Carolina Technical College System, has a branch in Pageland. Pageland 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 Chesterfield County Library System.

Local media

The local newspaper is ''The Progressive Journal'', which is published weekly on Tuesdays. Pageland also is covered by ''The Link'', which is published weekly on Tuesday.

Notable people

* Billy Backus, world champion boxer, has lived there * Robbie Caldwell, former head football coach at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, current offensive line coach at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, grew up in Pageland * Justice Cunningham, football player selected in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

and Mr. Irrelevant * Corey Miller, football linebacker for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

* Patina Miller,

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning actress and singer, former student of Central High School in Pageland *

Van Lingle Mungo Van Lingle Mungo (June 8, 1911 – February 12, 1985) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. The five-time All-Star w ...

, baseball pitcher for the Major League Brooklyn Robins-Dodgers and New York Giants, also known for a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

bearing his name

References

External links

Town website

Pageland Chamber of Commerce

Chesterfield County School District
{{South Carolina Towns in Chesterfield County, South Carolina