Edisto Beach, South Carolina

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Coordinates: 32°29′15″N 80°19′28″W / 32.4875, -80.32444
Edisto Beach, South Carolina
Location of Edisto Beach, South Carolina
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Colleton
Area
- Total	2.4 sq mi (6.1 km²)
- Land	2.1 sq mi (5.5 km²)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km²)
Elevation	7 ft (2 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	641
- Density	301.7/sq mi (116.5/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	29438
Area code(s)	843
FIPS code	45-23020^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1231260^[2]

Edisto Beach is a town in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 641 at the 2000 census. The town limits include only the coastal area of Edisto Island (the majority of the island's area is part of Charleston County, though the town itself is incorporated within Colleton).

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Edisto Beach was originally settled by the Edistow Indians and was discovered by the Spanish in the late 1500's. Thereafter, commerce on the Island began to develop. Rice and indigo were the most common crops during the early settlement years. Later, significant cotton plantations were built and flourished. This industry, fueled by rich land owners and slaves, prospered until the Civil War.

Although the Union soldiers thereafter invaded Edisto and John's Islands, the Confederate forces were able to retain control of Charleston until 1865, very late in the War.

By the 1920s South Carolina residents began arriving to Edisto Island and Edisto Beach to build crude retreats; hardly the vacation industry of today, but a place to relax nevertheless. In those days, access to the Island could be gained only at low tide by driving or riding across the marsh on beds of oyster shells.

Although most homes on the island were destroyed in the 1940's, Hurricane Hugo spared the island in 1989. It has since become a vacation destination with a section of the island recently purchased by Wyndham Resorts. ^[3]

[edit] Geography

Edisto Beach is located at 32°29′15″N, 80°19′28″W (32.487613, -80.324402)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.1 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (9.79%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 641 people, 329 households, and 221 families residing in the town. The population density was 301.7 people per square mile (116.7/km²). There were 1,785 housing units at an average density of 840.2/sq mi (325.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.63% White, 2.81% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.31% of the population.

There were 329 households out of which 10.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.34.

In the town the population was spread out with 9.2% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 15.8% from 25 to 44, 45.2% from 45 to 64, and 26.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $54,444, and the median income for a family was $68,056. Males had a median income of $47,188 versus $29,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $39,400. About 1.8% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.