Piedmont is a census-designated place (CDP) along the Saluda River in Anderson and Greenville counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 5,411 at the 2020 census.
Piedmont is a part of the Greenville-Anderson metropolitan area.
History
thumb|left|Downtown Piedmont around 1890
Native Americans and early settlers of Piedmont called the area "Big Shoals of the Saluda" after the Saluda River. The Native Americans used the shoals as a crossing. David Garrison established a grist mill around 1850 upon the shoals changing the name of the area to Garrison Shoals. Henry Pinckney Hammett bought this property for his cotton mill that used water power of the shoals. The name of the area changed again to Piedmont, "foot of the Mountains" and became a mill town. The American Civil War disrupted Hammett's project until 1876 when his plant began operations. Piedmont was added to Hammett's charter for Piedmont Manufacturing Company and a railroad station. Water power from the Saluda River was also used to produce electricity to run the machinery from the 1880s to the 1920s. The machinery of the Piedmont Manufacturing Company was from Saco Lowell and Whitin Machine Works that helped finance Hammett's company. In 1946 the mills were sold to J.P. Stevens and Company where it then was updated with modern features. Manufacturing continued until 1977 and in 1983 most of Piedmont Manufacturing Company burned down.
Geography
Piedmont is located in northern Anderson County and southwestern Greenville County. It is south of the center of Greenville. Exit 35 on Interstate 85 is to the west of the center of Piedmont.
South Carolina state road 86 cuts through the small town also, connecting with Interstate 85 at Exit 35.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.93%, is water.
2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+Piedmont racial composition
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|White (non-Hispanic)
|4,321
|79.86%
|-
|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
|508
|9.39%
|-
|Native American
|10
|0.18%
|-
|Asian
|16
|0.3%
|-
|Other/Mixed
|287
|5.3%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino
|269
|4.97%
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,411 people, 1,787 households, and 1,476 families residing in the CDP.
2000 census
As of the census
Education
In Greenville County the portion of the CDP is in the Greenville County School District<!--UNI 2310-->. In Anderson County the portion of the CDP is in Anderson School District 1<!--UNI 00780-->.
Schools in Piedmont include Wren High School, Wren Middle School, Wren Elementary School, Spearman Elementary School all located in Anderson School District One, and Woodmont High School, Woodmont Middle School, and Sue Cleveland Elementary School all located in the Greenville County School District.
Notable people
- Ian Henderson, racing driver
- Bud Crothers, racing driver
- Corinne Boyd Riley, U.S. Representative from South Carolina, 1962-1963
In popular culture
- The Birth of a Nation was predominantly set in Piedmont.