Great Falls, South Carolina

Great Falls, South Carolina
—  Town  —
Location of Great Falls, South Carolina
Coordinates:
Country United States
State South Carolina
County Chester
Area
 • Total 4.4 sq mi (11.4 km2)
 • Land 4.2 sq mi (11.0 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.4 km2)
Elevation 489 ft (149 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 2,194
 • Density 516.8/sq mi (199.5/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 29055
Area code(s) 803
FIPS code 45-30490[1]
GNIS feature ID 1222851[2]
Website www.greatfallssc.net

Great Falls is a town in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,194 at the 2000 census.

Contents

Geography and climate

Great Falls is located at (34.570912, -80.900238)[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), of which, 4.2 square miles (11 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (3.19%) is water.

Culture

The town of Great Falls hosts an annual Flopeye Fish Festival.

Great Falls was a thriving metropolis and a real boomtown in the early 1900s. It was founded on the old US 21 peddler's route from Charleston to the mountains of North Carolina and beyond, The trade route of its time.

After a hydroelectric plant was built and was powering the first of three cotton mills, the 'company sto' near the plant provided the workers with everything that they could possibly need ... at whatever price they felt like they could get, and simply deducted that from the workers' wages. Up the road, or 'down,' depending on your perspective, a merchant (who may have been named Andy Morrison) who had a lazy, or drooping, eyelid(s), would laze around his store, selling many of the same items at lower prices, of course. The company tried to discourage its workers from trading with 'that old flopeyed man' down the road. However, people liked his prices, and seemed to genuinely like old 'Flopeye.' They built up a separate business area, and a surrounding village in the area around Flopeye.

There were, and still are, two separate and distinct business areas in Great Falls. Downtown, where the Company Store was located, also has a bank (now gone), post office, theater ("The Falls," also gone), and many others. Flopeye, separated by a road winding past beautiful Republic Park, has a football stadium (home of the 1934 State Champs with noted Banks McFadden), churches, and the local school.[4]

Notable residents

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,194 people, 892 households, and 595 families residing in the town. The population density was 516.8 people per square mile (199.3/km²). There were 1,041 housing units at an average density of 245.2 per square mile (94.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 71.01% White, 27.94% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 0.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.73% of the population.

There were 892 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,758, and the median income for a family was $31,683. Males had a median income of $27,336 versus $22,070 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,266. About 16.4% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 20.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links