Jefferson, South Carolina

History

Jefferson was incorporated in 1904.

Geography and Climate

Jefferson is located at 34°39′6″N 80°23′22″W (34.651550, -80.389484). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²), of which, 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) of it is land and 0.56% is water.

Neighboring towns

Brewer Gold Mine

The Brewer Gold Mine is an abandoned mine located on the western border of Chesterfield County, about 1.5 miles due west of the town of Jefferson, South Carolina. Brewer Gold Company owns approximately 1,000 acres of land along a small north-south ridgeline that divides Little Fork Creek and the Lynches River. About one-quarter of the 1,000 acres has been disturbed by mining operations. Brewer Gold Mine was one of the oldest and most productive gold mines in the eastern United States.

Activities at Brewer are rumored to date to the 16th century involving Indian trade with the Spaniards. Before the Revolutionary War, the area was mined for iron. The first documented discovery of gold took place by Burrell Brewer in 1828. Brewer Gold Company, a subsidiary owned by the British Costain Limited Group (Costain), secured ownership of the mine in 1986, with the first gold production occurring in August 1987. Ore was mined using conventional open pit methods until January 1995. Rock was first fractured using drilling and blasting, and then loaded into trucks. Waste rock was used as fill for facility construction or hauled to a disposal area to the south of the Brewer Pit. Ore was hauled to the crushing area where processing for the cyanide heap-leach method began. The crushed ore was then placed on pads and a dilute cyanide solution was sprayed over the heaps and allowed to percolate through the ore, thereby dissolving the gold into solution.

Pine Cones and Pine Straw

An important local economy is based upon the long-leaf and loblolly pine, which drop both cones and needles. Casey Horton Enterprises was formed in early 2015 to gather both the pine cones and the straw. The cones are used in Christmas decorations while the pine straw is used for yard bedding. Horton Enterprises has since focused its work on the pine cone business.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 704 people, 296 households, and 200 families residing in the town. The population density was 394.9 people per square mile (152.7/km²). There were 345 housing units at an average density of 193.5 per square mile (74.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 62.07% White, 34.80% African American, 1.14% from other races and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.09% of the population.

There were 296 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 19.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the town, the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,821, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $25,417 versus $18,021 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,924. About 19.9% of families and 27.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.0% of those under age 18 and 19.4% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

The Jefferson Recreation Complex on Ogburn Drive is a multi-purpose public park that includes five baseball ballfields. In 2012, approximately 400 area youth ages three to 15 participated on 26 teams, including the building of a press box and restroom facility.

Education

Medical

Sandhills Medical Foundation is a community health center serving residents of Chesterfield, Kershaw, Lancaster and Sumter counties. It was founded in 1977.

Notable Homes

The biggest thing to ever happen to Jefferson SC in the past 50 years is the building of Andrew Curries home on the corner hill atop the town. It is perfectly situated for on lookers to gaze in admiration and worship