Edgefield County, South Carolina

Edgefield County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,657. The county was established on March 12, 1785. The Savannah River makes up part of the western border of Edgefield County; across the river lies the city of Augusta, Georgia. Edgefield is part of the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The origin of the name Edgefield is unclear; the South Carolina State Library's information on the county's history suggests that the name "is usually described as 'fanciful.'" There is a village named Edgefield in Norfolk, England.

Edgefield District was created in 1785, and it is bordered on the west by the Savannah River. It was formed from the southern section of the former Ninety-Six District when it was divided into smaller districts or counties by an act of the state legislature. A clear line demarcated the elite, but according to Burton, the line between poor and yeoman was never very distinct. Stephanie McCurry argues that yeomen were clearly distinguished from poor whites by their ownership of land (real property). Edgefield's yeomen farmers were "self-working farmers," distinct from the elite because they worked their land themselves alongside any slaves they owned. By owning large numbers of slaves, planters took on a managerial function and did not work in the fields.

During Reconstruction, Edgefield County had a slight black majority. It became a center of political tensions following the postwar amendments that gave freedmen civil rights under the US constitution. Whites conducted an insurgency to maintain white supremacy, particularly through paramilitary groups known as the Red Shirts. They used violence and intimidation during election seasons from 1872 on to disrupt and suppress black Republican voting.

In May 1876, six black suspects were lynched by a white mob for the alleged murders of a white couple. In the Hamburg Massacre of July 8, 1876, several black militia were killed by whites, part of a large group of more than 100 armed men who attended a court hearing of a complaint of whites against the militia. Some of the white men came from Augusta. Due to fraud, more Democratic votes were recorded in Edgefield County than there were total residents; similar fraud occurred elsewhere, as did suppression of black voting. Eventually the election was decided in Hampton's favor, and the Democrats also took control of the state legislature. As a result of a national compromise, Federal troops were withdrawn in 1877 from South Carolina and other southern states, ending Reconstruction.

The long decline in population from 1910 to 1980 reflects the decline in agriculture, mechanization reducing labor needs, and the effect of many African Americans leaving for Northern and Midwestern cities in the Great Migration out of the rural South.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.24%) is water.

National protected area

Sumter National Forest (part)

State and local protected area

Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area (part)

Major water bodies

Savannah River
Steven Creek

Adjacent counties

Saluda County – northeast
Aiken County – east
Richmond County, Georgia – southwest
Columbia County, Georgia – southwest
McCormick County – west
Greenwood County – northwest

Major highways

Major infrastructure

Edgefield County Airport

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Edgefield County, South Carolina – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|8,711

|9,756

|13,645

|15,196

|style='background: #ffffe6; |14,890

|49.70%

|53.09%

|55.48%

|56.31%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |58.03%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|8,567

|8,496

|10,165

|9,951

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,301

|48.88%

|46.24%

|41.33%

|36.88%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32.35%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|15

|11

|74

|62

|style='background: #ffffe6; |67

|0.09%

|0.06%

|0.30%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%

|Asian alone (NH)

|15

|29

|58

|94

|style='background: #ffffe6; |118

|0.09%

|0.16%

|0.24%

|0.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6

|0.00%

|0.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%

|Other race alone (NH)

|20

|style='background: #ffffe6; |93

|0.05%

|0.02%

|0.03%

|0.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.36%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|142

|237

|style='background: #ffffe6; |811

|0.58%

|0.88%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.16%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|211

|79

|503

|1,414

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,371

|1.20%

|0.43%

|2.05%

|5.24%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.34%

|Total

|17,528

|18,375

|24,595

|26,985

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25,657

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 25,657 and a median age of 44.4 years; 19.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.9% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 110.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 112.4 males.

The census recorded 9,634 households, of which 6,471 were families residing in the county.

12.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 88.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 9,634 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 10,559 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 58.6% white, 37.2% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) made up 5.2% of the population.

Of the 9,348 households, 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.3% were non-families, and 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age was 40.3 years.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 24,595 people, 8,270 households, and 6,210 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 9,223 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 56.77% White, 41.51% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 2.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,270 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 15.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 22.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,146, and the median income for a family was $41,810. Males had a median income of $32,748 versus $23,331 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,415. About 13.00% of families and 15.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

The Federal Bureau of Prisons Federal Correctional Institution, Edgefield is in the county; it is partially within the city limits of Edgefield, and partially in an unincorporated area.

Economy

In 2022, the GDP of Edgefield County was $807.3 million (approx. $29,243 per capita). In chained 2017 dollars, the real GDP was $645.6 million (about $23,386 per capita). Between 2022-2023, the unemployment rate has been 3.1-3.2% on average.

Some of the largest employers in the county include Dollar General and the United States Department of Justice.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Employment and Wage Statistics by Industry in Edgefield County, South Carolina

Notable people

Governors

Andrew Pickens, II 1816–1818
George McDuffie 1834–1836
Pierce Mason Butler 1836–1838
James H. Hammond 1842–1844
Francis W. Pickens 1860–1862
Milledge L. Bonham 1862–1864
John C. Sheppard 1886
Benjamin R. Tillman 1890–1894
John Gary Evans 1894–1897
Strom Thurmond 1947–1951

Other notable people

In addition to its ten governors of South Carolina listed below, Edgefield County was the home of numerous local notables:

George Galphin (1709–1780)
Samuel Hammond (1757–1842)
Parson Mason Locke Weems (1759–1825)
Rev. William Bullein Johnson (1782–1862)
Augustus Baldwin Longstreet (1790–1870), a famous author
Andrew Pickens Butler (1796–1857)
Dave Drake (1800–1879?), a slave
Louis T. Wigfall (1816–1874)
Preston S. Brooks (1819–1857)
General James Longstreet (1821–1904), a leading Confederate general
Prince Rivers (1823–1887), a black leader
George D. Tillman (1826–1901)
Martin Witherspoon Gary (1831–1881)
Lucy Holcombe Pickens (1832–1899)
Matthew Calbraith Butler (1836–1909)
Lawrence Cain (1845–1884), a black leader
Paris Simkins (1849–1930), a black leader
Daniel Augustus Tompkins (1851–1914)
Benjamin Mays (1894–1984), a black leader
Francis Butler Simkins (1897–1966), a historian
Davis Timmerman, a murder victim whose case resulted in the first execution of a woman in South Carolina's electric chair.

References

External links

Edgefield County Chamber of Commerce
Edgefield County history and images