Wagener is a town in Aiken 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 797 at the 2010 census, making it the largest settlement in the county north of the South Fork

Edisto River The Edisto River is one of the longest free-flowing blackwater rivers in North America, flowing over 250 meandering miles from its sources in Saluda and Edgefield counties, to its Atlantic Ocean mouth at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. It rises ...

. It is part of the

Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area The Augusta metropolitan area, officially the Augusta-Richmond County metropolitan statistical area according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Census Bureau and other agencies, is a metropolitan statistical area centered on the ci ...

. The town was also featured in the viral video for the

Boots on the Ground (song) "Boots on the Ground", also known as "Boots on the Ground: Where Them Fans At?" is a song written and performed by American singer Douglas Furtick, under the stage name 803Fresh. The song is strongly associated with the "Boots on the Ground" s ...

Geography

Wagener is located in eastern Aiken County at (33.652701, -81.364187). 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 , or 0.60%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 631 people, 320 households, and 261 families residing in the town.

2012

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 2012, there were 809 people, 368 (45.5%) males, and 441 (54.5%) females. Median resident age was 38.4

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 863 people, 347 households, and 239 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 424 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 61.53%

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 ...

, 37.54%

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 ...

, 0.35% Asian, and 0.58% 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 0.93% of the population. There were 347 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 26.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,773, and the median income for a family was $29,833. Males had a median income of $28,182 versus $17,212 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 $13,805. About 15.2% of families and 17.9% 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 25.0% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over

History

Gunter's Crossroad The history of Wagener dates back to 1887. The early settlement was known as Pinder Town and later as Guntersville or Gunter's Crossroad, after the large number of North Carolinian settlers named Gunter. These men helped make up Company I of the 20th SC Infantry, which was part of Kershaw's Brigade during the Civil War. The town is situated on what was once farm land belonging to Elridge Gunter. He donated this property to benefit the schools of Wagener and the First Baptist Church. The Southern Railroad The little town grew when the Southern Railroad ran a line through to Batesburg. Nearly all of the towns that sprang up along the railroad wanted to use the last name of George Wagener, who was a strong supporter of the railroad and the owner of a wholesale house in Charleston. It was through the influence of J. A. Gunter, a prosperous local farmer, that the town received the honor of using this distinguished name. In the 1920s and 1930s, asparagus was grown here and exported across America. During the same period, cotton became a successful product and huge bales lined the streets awaiting departure via train. The children of Wagener frolicked among the hay bales during their games of hide-n-seek. A central town park is located where the railroad beds were.

Education

It is in the Aiken County Public School District. Zoned schools are Cyril B. Busbee Elementary School, A. L. Corbett Middle School, and Wagener-Salley High School. All three schools are in the Wagener town limits. Wagener 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 ABBE Regional Library System.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Aiken County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina Augusta metropolitan area