Laurens County, South Carolina

Laurens County, South Carolina
Location in the state of South Carolina
South Carolina's location in the U.S.
Founded	1785
Seat	Laurens
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	724 sq mi (1,875 km²) 715 sq mi (1,852 km²) 9 sq mi (23 km²), 1.23%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	66,537 98/sq mi (38/km²)
Website	www.laurenscountysc.org

Laurens County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is included in the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, its population was 66,537. Its county seat is Laurens.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 724 square miles (1,875.2 km²), of which 715 square miles (1,851.8 km²) is land and 9 square miles (23.3 km²) (1.23%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

• Spartanburg County, South Carolina - north
• Union County, South Carolina - northeast
• Newberry County, South Carolina - southeast
• Greenwood County, South Carolina - south
• Abbeville County, South Carolina - southwest
• Anderson County, South Carolina - west
• Greenville County, South Carolina - northwest

Major Roads

Interstate 26 Interstate 385 US Route 25 US Route 76

US Route 221 South Carolina Route 72 South Carolina Route 418

National protected area

• Sumter National Forest (part)

History

Laurens County was formed in 1785. It was named after Henry Laurens, the third president of the Continental Congress.

One of nine modern counties of the Colonial Ninety-Six District, Laurens County hosted more "official" (i.e. officially recognized and contemporaneously documented by competent governments) battles than did half of the original colonies. The Battle of Musgrove Mill was the first time during the American Revolution that regular soldiers of Great Britain were defeated in battle by militia.

Those battles in modern Laurens County were:

1. Fort Lindley/Lindler
2. Widow Kellet's Block House
3. Musgrove's Mill
4. Farrow's Station
5. Duncan Creek Meeting House
6. Indian Creek
7. Hammond's Store
8. Fort Williams (not to be confused with Williamson's fort some 25 miles south in Greenwood County)
9. Cedar Springs (begun in Cross Anchor SC, then an old-fashioned "Hoss Chase" of fifty eight miles through four counties and ended in NC after about 30 hours!)
10. Mud Lick Creek
11. Hayes' Station. (Joe Goldsmith, State Historian, SC Soc., Sons of the American Revolution)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	9,337		—
1800	12,809		37.2%
1810	14,982		17.0%
1820	17,682		18.0%
1830	20,863		18.0%
1840	21,584		3.5%
1850	23,407		8.4%
1860	23,858		1.9%
1870	22,536		−5.5%
1880	29,444		30.7%
1890	31,610		7.4%
1900	24,311		−23.1%
1910	26,650		9.6%
1920	42,560		59.7%
1930	42,094		−1.1%
1940	44,185		5.0%
1950	46,974		6.3%
1960	47,609		1.4%
1970	49,713		4.4%
1980	52,214		5.0%
1990	58,092		11.3%
2000	69,567		19.8%
2010	66,537		−4.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 69,567 people, 26,290 households, and 18,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 97 people per square mile (38/km²). There were 30,239 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.57% White, 26.23% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 1.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 26,290 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.10% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,933, and the median income for a family was $39,739. Males had a median income of $30,402 versus $21,684 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,761. About 11.60% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 13.50% of those age 65 or over.

As of April 2011, the county unemployment rate was 11.1%.

Education

There are three public school districts in the county. Laurens County District 55 covers what is generally the northeastern half of the county while District 56 covers the southwestern half. The Ware Shoals area is covered by the multi-county Greenwood County District 51. There are two public high schools in the county: Laurens (in Dist. 55) and Clinton (in Dist. 56.)

Public K-12 education includes Hickory Tavern Elementary, Ford Elementary, Gray Court-Owings, Pleasant View Elementary, E.B. Morse, Hickory Tavern Middle, Laurens Middle, and Sanders Middle.

Private K-12 education includes Laurens Academy.

Presbyterian College, located in Clinton, is a four year liberal-arts school founded in 1880.

Cities and towns

Incorporated

• Clinton
• Cross Hill
• Fountain Inn (territory in Greenville and Laurens Counties)
• Gray Court
• Laurens
• Ware Shoals (territory in Greenwood, Abbeville and Laurens Counties)
• Waterloo

Unincorporated

• Hickory Tavern
• Joanna
• Kinards (territory in Newberry and Laurens Counties)
• Mountville
• Princeton
• Watts Mills

Notable residents

• James Adair, (c.1709-c.1783), historian, resided in Laurens County in later life.
• Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, worked as a tailor in Laurens during the 1820s
• William Y. Thompson (born 1922), historian, resided in Clinton from 1950-1955

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Laurens County, South Carolina
• Tryon County, North Carolina

External links

• Laurens County website
• Laurens County Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce
• ACCESS 15, Laurens County Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channel
• Laurens County, South Carolina DNA Project
• Selected Historical Information about Laurens County