West Columbia, formerly Brookland, is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

in the suburban eastern sections of

Lexington County, South Carolina Lexington County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 293,991. Its county seat and largest community is Lexington, South Carolina, ...

, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was 14,988, and the 2019 population estimate was 17,998. West Columbia is bordered to the east by Columbia, the state capital, across the

Congaree River The Congaree River is a short but wide river in South Carolina in the United States; It flows for approximately 53 miles (85 km). The river serves an important role as the final outlet channel for the entire Lower Saluda and Lower Broad wa ...

. It is near Columbia's city center or downtown district as well as the South Carolina State House and the Congaree Vista, known locally as "the Vista". The city is bordered to the south by its sister suburb, Cayce. A small portion of the city borders the town of Lexington to the east. West Columbia is part of the greater Columbia, South Carolina metropolitan area.

History

West Columbia was incorporated in 1894 as "Brookland", but the U.S. Postal Service called the town "New Brookland" since there was another town called Brookland. In 1936, the name was changed to "West Columbia" to emphasize its proximity to Columbia, the capital. Numerous businesses, churches and a high school retain the Brookland and New Brookland names. The Gervais Street Bridge, Mount Hebron Temperance Hall,

New Brookland Historic District New Brookland Historic District is a national historic district located at West Columbia, Lexington County, South Carolina. It encompasses 23 contributing buildings in the central business district and the "mill village" sections of West Colum ...

, and Saluda Factory Historic District 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 ...

. The 2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash occurred just before midnight on September 19, 2008, when a

Learjet 60 The Learjet 60 is a mid-size cabin, medium-range business jet aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace in Wichita, Kansas. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A engines, it has a range (with 4 passengers and 2 crew) of with NBAA ...

( registration ) crashed while taking off from Columbia Metropolitan Airport.4 killed, 2 hurt as rock star's jet crashes
as well as Today.com News Live, 8:30 AM, September 20, 2008.Meg Kinnar
"Experts: Pilots of doomed Learjet should've lifted off SC runway instead of trying to stop"
''NewsDay'', (Associated Press) October 22, 2008 The weather at the time was cool, dry, and clear. The plane hit runway lights and crashed through the boundary fence, crossing South Carolina Highway 302 (SC 302/Edmund Highway/Airport Boulevard), and coming to rest on an embankment by the side of the highway. No one on the ground was hurt, but four of the six people on the plane (including both

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

s) died in the crash, while the other two,

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...

(the drummer of

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

) and Adam Goldstein (DJ AM of Crazy Town), suffered severe burns. The plane was a

charter flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

taken by Barker, Goldstein and their entourage following a performance by their musical group TRV$DJAM at a free concert in Five Points earlier that night to

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Van Nuys City Hall, Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley ...

Geography

West Columbia lies to the south and west of the Saluda and Congaree rivers. 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 city has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²), of which 6.1 square miles (15.7 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km²) (3.18%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,416 people, 8,315 households, and 3,764 families residing in the city.

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 13,064 people, 5,968 households, and 3,300 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,436 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.54%

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 ...

, 19.81%

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 2.04% from other races, and 1.61% 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 4.66% of the population. There were 5,968 households, out of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% 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, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 36.1% 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 2.13 and the average family size was 2.76. In the city, the population was spread out, with 18.8% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,999, and the median income for a family was $40,253. Males had a median income of $30,033 versus $24,637 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 city was $18,135. About 12.8% of families and 16.8% 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 24.5% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over. West Columbia is the home of Glenforest School.

Education

West Columbia 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 Lexington County Public Library.

Notable people

* Duce Staley, former professional football player and football coach * Hal Jeffcoat, former professional baseball player * Troy Lesesne, professional soccer coach

References

External links

*
History of West ColumbiaLexington School District 2
{{Authority control Cities in South Carolina Cities in Lexington County, South Carolina Columbia metropolitan area (South Carolina)