Saluda is a town in Saluda 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, along the Little Saluda River. The population was 3,565 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 Saluda County.

Geography

Saluda is located at (34.003131, -81.771691). 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 (1.22%) is water. The town is shaped like a circle.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,122 people, 1,126 households, and 756 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 3,066 people, 1,103 households, and 788 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 48.76%

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 ...

, 40.48%

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 ...

, 0.23% Native American, 9.95% from other races, and 0.59% 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 19.37% of the population. There were 1,103 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% 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, 24.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.21. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,964, and the median income for a family was $31,042. Males had a median income of $25,208 versus $19,921 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 $13,032. About 22.9% of families and 28.5% 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 37.4% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

History

Prior to the formation of Saluda County in 1896, the town was named Redbank and was renamed to match the county it became the seat of. The Bonham House, Butler Family Cemetery, Marsh-Johnson House, Old Strother Place, Saluda Old Town Site,

Saluda Theatre Saluda Theatre is a historic movie theater located at Saluda, South Carolina, Saluda, Saluda County, South Carolina. It was built in 1936, and is a two-story, stuccoed masonry building in the Art Deco architecture, Art Deco style. The theater clos ...

, Stevens-Dorn Farmstead, and

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

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 ...

Education

It is in the Saluda County School District. Saluda County School District includes five public schools: Hollywood Elementary, Saluda Primary, Saluda Elementary, Saluda Middle, and Saluda High School. It also has a private school known as W. Wyman Kings Academy; and two other public schools, Saluda Opportunity School, and Saluda County Adult Education. It has a college center which is Piedmont Technical College Saluda County Center. Based on the information given about fifty-nine percent of the students enrolled in the district during the years 2018-2022 were white, twenty-two percent of the students were Black or African American, twenty-one percent of the students were Hispanic or Latino, one percent were American Indian/ Alaska Native and the rest were some other race or more than one race. About sixty-six percent of the students aged five and above spoke English only at home, and 2.7 percent of the students have a disability. Saluda 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 Saluda County Library.

Notable people

James Butler Hare James Butler Hare, (September 4, 1918 – July 16, 1966) was elected to the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives for South Carolina's 3rd congressional district. He served for one term from 1949 to 1951. Biog ...

, (1918–1966) was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for South Carolina's 3rd congressional districtCongressional biography
/ref> * Lyndon Amick, former

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver turned soldier * James Bonham, who fought and died at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

(his boyhood home is the only home of an Alamo defender known to still exist today) * Milledge Luke Bonham (younger brother of James), former

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

* Jonathon Brooks, professional football player who was drafted in the 4th round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played two professional seasons, one with Detroit in 1979 and with Atlanta and St Louis in 1980. * Rudolph Mitchell (1926-2019), politician * William B. Travis, Texian commander of the Alamo

References

External links

Town of Saluda

Saluda County Chamber of Commerce

Saluda Standard-Sentinel Newspaper
{{authority control Towns in Saluda County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina County seats in South Carolina Columbia metropolitan area (South Carolina)