Greeleyville, South Carolina

Greeleyville is a town in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 438 at the 2010 census. The town was originally chartered on December 20, 1893. Greeleyville's seal and flag feature a depiction of the first Town Hall, which was built in the 1890s, as well as two arms, one black and one white, holding a tobacco leaf and a cotton boll. These symbols represent the unity and cooperation among all the people of Greeleyville and pay tribute to the town's agricultural heritage.

History

The area surrounding Greeleyville was once home to several Native American tribes, including the Wee Nee, Wee Tee, and Mingoes, who inhabited and utilized the region as hunting grounds into the eighteenth century. A remnant population of Native Americans, known as the Goins Indian Community, has lived just north of Greeleyville since the mid-nineteenth century, predating the town of Greeleyville. The community once maintained its own church and during the era of racial segregation, had a state-funded school that operated until 1949. The community today still exists and alleges to be descended from the Wee Nee, among other historic tribes of the Carolinas.

The settlement of Greeleyville traces back to the late nineteenth century, when Samuel J. Taylor, a veteran of the American Civil War, came to the present site of the town with his partner, S.J. Hudson. The two together bought several hundred acres of timber and began the manufacture of turpentine and rosin. Greeleyville obtained its name when Taylor, who was depending on the turpentine industry, had ordered a bill of goods for his store and was in need of an address. On December 20, 1893, the town was officially chartered as Greeleyville.

Thomas Walter Boyle was a key figure in the development of Greeleyville during the early 20th century. He held several important positions in the town, including vice-president of the Mallard Lumber Company and president of the Bank of Greeleyville and the Greeleyville Land & Improvement Company. In 1904, Mallard Lumber Company had become the main enterprise of Greeleyville, shipping a variety of types of lumber north for sale. During the twenty-first century, many shops once located in downtown Greeleyville became abandoned due to competition with big-box stores and other businesses located along nearby U.S. Highway 521.

On May 21, 2021, the town of Greeleyville gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Jonte-Sabb Farmer's Market and Pavilion. The structure is named for senator Ronnie A. Sabb and the late Leonard Jonte, the former CEO and president of the Bank of Greeleyville, who died in 2008. Jonte devoted countless hours to preserving and bettering the town, having co-founded the Greeleyville Flag Day Festival and having served on the Greeleyville Beautification Committee.

Burning of Mt. Zion AME Church

On the night of June 20, 1995, during a string of over thirty suspicious fires at African American churches between 1995 and 1996, Mount Zion AME Church was burned as the result of arson by two Ku Klux Klan members. President Bill Clinton traveled to Greeleyville in June 1996 to attend the dedication of the rebuilt church, vowing to enlist the full power of the federal government to put an end to the mass burnings of African American churches prevalent at the time. The church became a national symbol of arsons following Clinton's visit to Greeleyville.

Historic Sites

Locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

The Clarkson Farm Complex
The McCollum-Murray House

2020 census

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

|+Greeleyville town, South Carolina – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|173

|121

|style='background: #ffffe6; |93

|38.27%

|27.63%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |24.22%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|263

|295

|style='background: #ffffe6; |268

|58.19%

|67.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |69.79%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Asian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.88%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.00%

|0.23%

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

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |14

|0.00%

|2.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.65%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|12

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8

|2.65%

|2.74%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.08%

|Total

|452

|438

|style='background: #ffffe6; |384

|100.00%

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

2000 census

As of the census