Ridgeland is a town in

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

and Beaufort counties,

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 3,749 at the 2020 census, a 7.1% decrease from

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. It has been 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 Jasper County since the county's formation in 1912. Ridgeland is included within the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area. Ridgeland was originally known as "Gopher Hill" in 1894, derived from the

gopher tortoise The gopher tortoise (''Gopherus polyphemus'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide she ...

, which is indigenous to the area. The name was not considered good enough for a new railroad station, so it was changed to "Ridgeland" in 1902 by the station ticket master, Frederick Henry Ingram, for the fact that the town stands on a sandy ridge that is some of the highest land in Jasper County. Ridgeland is home to the Ridgeland Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison operated by the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Geography

Ridgeland is in northeastern Jasper County, with the center of town sitting on a low ridge at an elevation of above sea level. 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 are land and , or 0.59%, are water. The town's area as of 2010 is 18 times greater than its 2000 area of . The town limits extend east into Beaufort County as far as the west bank of the Broad River. Ridgeland is southwest of Walterboro, south of Hampton, 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 ...

, north of Hardeeville, and east of Tillman.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,758 people, 1,148 households, and 778 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 597 housing units at an average density of . There were 1,148 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% 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, 22.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% 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 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 14.9% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 44.5% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 279.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 338.2 males. The presence of the Ridgeland Correctional Institution in the town limits heavily skews the sex ratio. The median income for a household in the town was $31,991, and the median income for a family was $37,647. Males had a median income of $26,593 versus $14,641 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 $7,394. About 20.0% of families and 25.2% 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 32.7% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Ridgeland is home to Ridgeland Elementary School and Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School. Thomas Heyward Academy, which opened in 1970 as a segregation academy is located inside of the town limits.

Transportation

Roads

*, the major north-south

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

on the Eastern Seaboard, runs through Ridgeland. A trumpet interchange to a connecting road exists south of the town at Exit 18 north of

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, though the main interchanges within the community are Exits 21 and 22. *, a principal route connecting Charleston,

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, and beyond, enters Ridgeland after passing through

. The road is known locally as Jacob Smart Boulevard and has an interchange with I-95 at Exit 22, which it joins in an overlap until Point South at Exit 33. The road is mainly four lanes wide, with some segments having a center turn lane, although it becomes a four-lane divided highway north of downtown Ridgeland before joining I-95 in the aforementioned overlap. * overlaps US 17 from northern Hardeeville, before veering west onto Third Street and then Grays Highway towards

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

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. *, Ridgeland's Main Street, runs eastward from its starting point at U.S. 321 in Tillman. Within Ridgeland it intersects U.S. 17, goes under I-95 at Exit 21, and continues eastward towards the hamlet of Old House at SC 462.

Rail

The

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Railway's Charleston Subdivision (also known as the Charleston-Savannah Railway) currently operates both

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

trains and

passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

trains (via

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

) along the lines, but do not stop at Ridgeland. The line runs along the west side of US 17 until the south end of the I-95 overlap, where it then runs along Nuna Rock Road (Old US 17) until it reaches Coosawhatchie.

Notable people

* Thomas Heyward, Jr., signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

and

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

* LaRue Howard,

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

ian *

Reverend Ike Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II (June 1, 1935 – July 28, 2009), better known as Reverend Ike, was an American minister and evangelist based in New York City. He was known for the slogan "You can't lose with the stuff I use!" Though his preach ...

(Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II), popular and controversial

prosperity theology Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, seed-faith gospel, Faith movement, or Word-Faith movement) is a belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial bl ...

televangelist * David Into, racing driver * General Lloyd W. Newton, first African-American pilot in the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds * General Jacob E. Smart,

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

era

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

general * William C. Patrick III, Cold War era microbiologist at

Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, it has hosted m ...

References

External links

Town of Ridgeland official website
{{authority control Towns in Jasper County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina County seats in South Carolina Hilton Head Island–Beaufort micropolitan area