Bennettsville, South Carolina

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16.1 km²), of which, 5.6 square miles (14.5 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (10.13%) is water.

[edit] History

The city of Bennettsville was founded in 1819 and named in honor of Thomas Bennett, the then governor of South Carolina. The city became one of the richest agricultural areas in the state. Legend says that the land is so rich it once sold by the pound instead of the acre. Because of this importance to its early history, the State of South Carolina gave Bennettsville the designation of its first "G.R.E.A.T. Town" (Governor's Rural Economic Achievement Trophy).

In 1865, during the Civil War, the city was occupied by Union troops. During this time, the Jennings-Brown House and the first County Courthouse was used as the headquarters for General William T. Sherman.

[edit] Famous Residents

Hugh McColl, former president of the Bank of America and Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund are natives of Bennettsville.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 9,425 people, 3,289 households, and 2,167 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,686.2 people per square mile (651.0/km²). There were 3,775 housing units at an average density of 675.4/sq mi (260.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.15% African American, 34.80% White, 0.85% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population.

There were 3,289 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.7% were married couples living together, 25.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 107.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,389, and the median income for a family was $29,272. Males had a median income of $24,697 versus $21,054 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,917. About 22.0% of families and 27.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.2% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those age 65 or over.

Bennettsville is the center of an urban cluster with a total population of 12,070 (2000 census).

[edit] Government

The city is run by an elected Mayor-council government system. The city administrator is appointed by the city council and serves as the chief executive officer to carry out polices and oversee the daily business of the city.