Bishopville, South Carolina

Bishopville is a town in Lee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,471 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lee County.

Geography

Bishopville is located near Lee State Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.26%) is water.

Major highways

Climate

Bishopville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with balmy winters and long, hot summers.

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable"

|+Bishopville racial composition

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

|White (non-Hispanic)

|753

|24.9%

|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|2,135

|70.6%

|Native American

|0.13%

|Asian

|12

|0.4%

|Other/Mixed

|86

|2.84%

|Hispanic or Latino

|34

|1.12%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,024 people, 1,414 households, and 728 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census

History

Bishopville was known as Singleton's Crossroads for more than a decade before it was renamed in honor of Jacques Bishop. The of land had been granted to Jacob Chamber by the state of South Carolina in 1786. Daniel Carter later purchased the property and then sold it to William Singleton in 1790.

The tavern owned and operated by Singleton and his wife sat at the intersection of Mecklenburg Road, now Church Street, and McCallum Ferry Road, now Main Street. This tavern was a stop on the stagecoach route between Georgetown and Charlotte. (Now this intersection involves Highway 15, which at one point was the premier north–south route from New York to Miami.) In 1798, William Singleton died, leaving his wife the owner of the tavern until her death in 1820. A year later in 1821, the property was sold to Bishop. During this time period, the area around present-day Bishopville was said to be composed of mostly wilderness, with only a few scattered, primitive houses.

Lee County was created in 1892 with Bishopville its county seat, but Bishopville did not complete building its courthouse and county jail until February 1902. As a result, county boundaries were delimited along Lynches River, Black River, Scape Ore Swamp, Sparrow Swamp, Long Branch, and Screeches Branch following old roads and artificial limits.

On December 15, 1902, Bishopville celebrated its new significance by hosting speeches and shooting off the old cannon in front of the Lee County Courthouse.

Lee County has historically been a leader in cotton production in the state and is the home of the South Carolina Cotton Museum.

In addition to the Lee County Courthouse, the Ashwood School Gymnasium and Auditorium, Bishopville Commercial Historic District, James Carnes House, Dennis High School, Thomas Fraser House, William Apollos James House, The Manor, Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church, William Rogers House, South Main Historic District, Spencer House, and Tall Oaks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Education

Students in Bishopville are served by Lee County Public Schools.

Public schools

Bishopville Primary School
Lee Central Middle School
Lee Central High School
Lee County Career and Technology Center
Central Carolina Technical College

Private schools

Robert E. Lee Academy
Pee Dee Math, Science, and Technology Academy

Library

Bishopville has a lending library, the Lee County Public Library.

Arts and culture

Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden is located in Bishopville. The garden is visited annually by many tourists. Fryar and his carefully sculptured topiary garden has been featured many times on television specials and in dozens of magazines. His garden offers of trees and shrubs formed into fanciful spirals, three-dimensional pieces, pom poms, and other extraordinary shapes. Fryar is known nationally for live topiary sculptures. He's also won many awards as well as being named as South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development by Mark Sanford in 2003. Fryar revealed that all he wanted was to have a nice yard and win yard of the month from his hometown of Bishopville, SC.

Lee State Park is one of the best-known parks in Lee County. Located at 487 Loop Road in Bishopville, this park host's just about everything from river fishing, boating, nature trails, show ring, and stables. The park also offers educational programs like pine needle basket weaving and owl prowls. Year-round, during daylight hours, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers built the Park during the Great Depression. This attractive park is approximately of land. This park offers picnics in shelters and camping. Picnic tables and serene environments are stationed around the of Lynches River that's owned by Lee State Park.

The South Carolina Cotton Museum and Lee County Veterans Museum are located next door to each other in Bishopville. The Cotton Museum preserves the history of cotton culture and the legacy of a way of life both long gone and very much a part of the present. The museum has the world's largest boll weevil. The Lee County Veterans Museum was designed, built and furnished by veterans of Lee County. The museum preserves and tells the history of US wars and conflicts, as well as the stories and lives of local veterans.

Monster

This town is known for the alleged sightings of a reptile-like monster, known as "The Lizard Man", near a swamp called Scape Ore Swamp. It has supposedly frightened people and damaged some cars. At one point there was a one million dollar reward for anyone who could find and present "Lizard Man".

Notable people

Doc Blanchard, first Junior to win college football's Heisman Trophy award
Gwendolyn Bradley, opera singer
The Button King, born Dalton Stevens
Silas DeMary, a player for the Cleveland Gladiators
Pearl Fryar, noted topiary artist
Tommy Gainey, professional golfer on the PGA Tour
Jim Nesbitt, comic country musician
Drink Small, the "Blues Doctor", an African American soul blues singer