Hartsville, South Carolina

History

The area surrounding Hartsville was once home to several Native American tribes, including the Pee Dee, Catawba, Chicora, Edisto, Sane, and Chicora-Waccamaw, who inhabited the region until European settlers arrived. The tribes were ultimately wiped out due to diseases brought in by settlers.

Hartsville's first settlement began around 1760. The town is named for Captain Thomas E. Hart, who eventually owned most of the land in the community. Hart started a successful mercantile business, but he lost his business and his land during the economic depression of 1837–1838.

In 1845, Thomas Hart's son, John Lide Hart, purchased 495 acres (200 ha) of land in what is now downtown Hartsville from Colonel Law. John Hart went on to establish a carriage factory, steam-powered saw mill, grist mill, general store, and Hartsville Baptist Church. Caleb Coker purchased the carriage factory for his son James Lide Coker in 1855.

James Lide Coker came to Hartsville in 1857 with plans to implement new farming methods taught to him at Harvard College. His plans were interrupted by the start of the Civil War, in which he became a major for the Confederacy. He returned to Hartsville injured and found that his plantation was in shambles. He made plans to reconstruct his plantation and bring prosperity to the town of Hartsville.

Major Coker established Welsh Neck High School which later became Coker College. He also went on to establish a seed company, oil mill, fertilizer plant, the Coker and Company General Store, a bank, and the Southern Novelty Company, now known as Sonoco Products Company. Even with his own successes in business, Coker and his family were unable to convince other business owners in the area to build a railroad spur, and so they decided to build their own, which became the Hartsville Railroad, completed in 1889.

The railroad would eventually become part of the South Carolina Central Railroad, and the Southern Novelty Company and Carolina Fiber Company merged to form Sonoco Products Company. Sonoco would eventually expand to a global scale and become a Fortune 500 company.

Historic sites

Locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Points of interest

Geography

Hartsville is located in northwestern Darlington County at 34°22′10″N 80°4′51″W (34.369474, −80.080783). U.S. Route 15 bypasses the city to the southeast; it leads northeast 17 miles (27 km) to Society Hill and 47 miles (76 km) to Laurinburg, North Carolina, and southwest 40 miles (64 km) to Sumter. South Carolina Highway 151 bypasses the city to the southwest; it leads southeast 14 miles (23 km) to Darlington, the county seat, and northwest 14 miles (23 km) to McBee. Columbia, the state capital, is 70 miles (110 km) to the southwest.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Hartsville has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16.0 km²), of which 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²), or 7.11%, is water. Prestwood Lake, an impoundment on Black Creek, is on the northern border of the city. Black Creek is part of the Pee Dee River watershed.

Climate

Hartsville enjoys a mild climate year-round. It experiences 213 sunny days on average. The number of days with measurable precipitation is 106, and the city receives about 46 inches (1,200 mm) of rainfall per year. The average low is 31 °F (−1 °C) in January, and the average high is 92 °F (33 °C) in July. During the winter months, Hartsville can receive snowfall.

Demographics

According to the United States Census Bureau, the population of Hartsville in 2010 was 7,764. As of the census of 2010, there were 7,764 people and 3,225 households residing in the city. The population density was 1356.6 people per square mile. There were 3,704 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 51% White, 46.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.5% Hispanic or Latino, and 1% Two or More Races.

There were 3,225 households, of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.5% were married couples living together, 22.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city, the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 20 to 24, 10.7% from 25 to 34, 11.6% from 35 to 44, 14.4% from 45 to 54, 6.8% from 55–59, 3.1% from 60–64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. The population is made up of 3,640 (46.6%) Males and 4,166 (53.4%) Females.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,242, and the median income for a family was $48,594. Full-time, year-round working males had a median income of $35,333 versus $30,013 for full-time, year-round working females. The per capita income for the city was $21,815. About 15.3% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.8% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Major employers in the area include Sonoco Products Company, Nucor Corporation, Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center, Novolex, Stingray Boats, North Industrial Machine, and Duke Energy's H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station.

At 5.80%, the unemployment rate is significantly lower than the national average. Job growth over the next decade is expected to be approximately 34.10%. The household median income is $38,780.00.

Arts and culture

There are many festivals, parades, and other events that residents of Hartsville look forward to each year.

Annual events

Parks

Hartsville has several parks within the city.

City government and programs

Hartsville has a council–manager government. The city council, Hartsville's legislative body, is made of a mayor who is elected at large, and six council members who are elected in single-member districts, with one member elected by his/her peers as Mayor Pro-Tem. Regular meetings take place on the second Tuesday of the month.

City Hall is located at 100 E Carolina Avenue in a building previously occupied by the Bank of America. The new city hall opened in mid-2013. It is praised by the citizens of Hartsville as a significant upgrade for the downtown area.

Main Street Hartsville

The Main Street Hartsville program is a partnership of the City of Hartsville, the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville, and Main Street South Carolina, a program of the National Main Street Center. The organization seeks to build a vibrant downtown in Hartsville, focusing on thriving businesses, entertainment, recreating and historic preservation. It follows the Main Street "Four Point Approach" of organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring. Main Street Hartsville administers a Sign and Paint grant for local businesses. It also oversees the Hartsville Farmers Market, Start-Up Hartsville, and Hartsville for the Holidays. They hold contests periodically in which local businesses may compete.

Education

The public schools in Hartsville are governed by the Darlington County School District. For the 2015-16 school year, the district approved a fiscal budget of $74,981,758.00. The district-wide student-to-teacher ratio is about 10.5 students to every teacher and the district spends about $9,667.00 per student.

Public primary education

Public secondary education

Private schools

Higher education

Coker College, a private, baccalaureate-granting institution, is located in Hartsville. Coker College offers a four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts, as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. In its 2016 rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Coker as the 20th best College in the South and the 15th best College for Veterans. The Princeton Review, for the 11th consecutive year, named Coker a "Best College in the Southeast" in 2016 as well.

Florence–Darlington Technical College, based in nearby Florence, South Carolina, also maintains a satellite campus in Hartsville.

Media

Hartsville is served by several local, regional, and state media outlets. The Hartsville Messenger, an affiliate of SCNow, is the local newspaper, with The State serving as a source for statewide news. WBTW News 13, WPDE-TV News 15, and WFXB Fox TV are the news channels that serve the Hartsville area as well as the entire Pee Dee and Grand Strand regions.

Infrastructure

Downtown Hartsville and most neighborhoods in Hartsville are designed around a standard grid layout whose use began when the city first developed. However, in newly developed sections of the city, such as around Hartsville Crossing, the road layout is less orthodox.

Hartsville is located 14 miles (23 km) north of Interstate 20 and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Interstate 95.

Utilities

The City of Hartsville maintains garbage and recycling services for residents within the city limits, as well as water services. Electric services are provided by Duke Energy and Pee Dee Electric Cooperative. Dish Network, DirecTV, AT&T, and Time Warner Cable all serve television and internet needs.

Healthcare

Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center is a large medical complex located on the edge of Hartsville. The hospital has 116 beds available for patients, not including those located in the hospital's Level III capable trauma/ER unit.

Notable people