Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina

Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina
Town
Nickname(s): B-L, The Twin Cities

Location of Batesburg-Leesville within South Carolina.
Coordinates: 33°55′N 81°33′W / 33.917°N 81.550°W / 33.917; -81.550Coordinates: 33°55′N 81°33′W / 33.917°N 81.550°W / 33.917; -81.550
Country United States
State South Carolina
Counties Lexington, Saluda
Government
 • Mayor Rita Crapps
Area
 • Total 7.4 sq mi (19.2 km2)
 • Land 7.3 sq mi (19 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation 643 ft (196 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 5,517
 • Density 752/sq mi (290.2/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 29006, 29070
Area code(s) 803
FIPS code 45-04300[1]
GNIS feature ID 1692657[2]
Website http://www.batesburg-leesville.org

Batesburg-Leesville is a town in Lexington and Saluda Counties, South Carolina. The population was 5,362 at the 2010 census.

History

The town of Batesburg-Leesville was formed in 1992 by the consolidation of the towns of Batesburg and Leesville. The last mayor of Batesburg and the first mayor of Batesburg-Leesville was Elza S. "Sandy" Spradley, Jr.

The D. D. D. Barr House, Batesburg Commercial Historic District, Simon Bouknight House, Cartledge House, Cedar Grove Lutheran Church, Church Street Historic District, Broadus Edwards House, Hampton Hendrix Office, Hartley House, Henry Franklin Hendrix House, Thomas Galbraith Herbert House, J.B. Holman House, A.C. Jones House, Leesville College Historic District, Crowell Mitchell House, McKendree Mitchell House, Mitchell-Shealy House, Old Batesburg Grade School, John Jacob Rawl House, Rawl-Couch House, Southern Railway Depot, and Rev. Frank Yarborough House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3][4]

In February 1946, a black American soldier, Isaac Woodard, was attacked by the local police chief, Linwood Shull. The assault left Woodard blind. Shull was never punished. The attack was the subject of an Orson Welles radio commentary a few months later.[5]

Law and government

Batesburg-Leesville is served by a council-manager style government.

Mayor

Batesburg-Leesville's mayor is Rita Crapps.

Town Council

The town council comprises eight elected council persons representing single-member districts. The current council members are:

Economy

Top employers

The top employer in Batesburg-Leesville is Lexington County School District Three with four different schools and a district office. The next is Union Switch and Signal, which has a 184,000-square-foot (17,100 m2) manufacturing facility.

Poultry industry

The town's economic dependence on poultry harvesting is apparent due to the presence of two large processing plants: Amick Farms and Columbia Farms. These assist in making Lexington County the top poultry producer in the state.

Poultry Festival

The South Carolina Poultry Festival (formerly the Ridge Poultry Festival) has been on the second Saturday in May since 1986. The festival features live music, food vendors, craft vendors, a carnival, a parade, and to conclude the event, a cake auction and fireworks show.

Future growth

On May 9, 2007, WalMart Stores, Inc, opened a new 180,000-square-foot (17,000 m2) Wal-Mart Supercenter near the middle of town, and a strip mall for smaller businesses. It created 375 new jobs, but the complex has been controversial. Local residents fear WalMart will draw off business from local ones. Others argue that when a WalMart moves into a small town, the associated economic benefits result in attracting new residents, who can also patronize local businesses.

Education

Public schools

The public school system in Batesburg-Leesville is administered by Lexington County School District Three, which consists of:

All sports teams associated with School District Three use a panther as their mascot. The Panthers' colors are purple and gold.

Private schools

W. Wyman King Academy and the Ridge Christian School are both private, nondenominational Christian schools accepting students in grades K-12.

Colleges and universities

University of South Carolina Aiken, University of South Carolina Columbia, and several Midlands Technical College campuses are within a roughly 30-45 minute drive from town.

In 2008, Midlands Technical College opened a new Batesburg-Leesville satellite campus around the site of the Old Haynes Auditorium in the Leesville side of town.

Media

Newspapers

Batesburg-Leesville is served weekly by The Twin-City News, which specifically focuses on local news, as well as that from immediately surrounding areas (mostly Gilbert and Monetta). It is usually devoid of national or world news.

The town is also served by The State newspaper, which is also circulated through most of the state of South Carolina.

In 2007, Lexington County Chronicle and The Dispatch-News began circulating at town stores and business to complement their subscribers in the area. The newspaper covers all county governments, state, national, and international news as it affects Lexington County residents.

Radio

Batesburg-Leesville has only one radio station transmitting from within its borders, WBLR 1430 AM. However, Batesburg-Leesville is in range of several radio stations broadcasting from the surrounding areas, including:

Television

Over-the-air channels receivable in Batesburg-Leesville include:

Alternatively, digital cable providers Time Warner Cable and Pond Branch Telecommunications collectively cover the majority of the greater Batesburg-Leesville area.

Geography

Batesburg-Leesville is located at 33°54′35″N 81°32′03″W / 33.909767°N 81.534296°W / 33.909767; -81.534296 (33.909767, -81.534296).[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km2), of which 7.3 square miles (19.0 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km2) (1.21%) is covered by water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880286—
189052884.6%
190097183.9%
19101,995105.5%
19202,84842.8%
19302,839−0.3%
19402,9333.3%
19503,1698.0%
19603,80620.1%
19704,0366.0%
19804,023−0.3%
19904,0821.5%
20005,51735.2%
20105,362−2.8%
Est. 20145,423[7]1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 5,517 people, 2,167 households, and 1,482 families residing in the town. The population density was 751.4 people per square mile (290.2/km2). There were 2,446 housing units at an average density of 333.2 per square mile (128.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 52.82% White, 45.66% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population.

There were 2,167 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 22.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,865, and the median income for a family was $40,040. Males had a median income of $32,447 versus $22,196 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,078. About 16.1% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Notable figures who were born in, lived in, or are otherwise associated with Batesburg-Leesville include:

Athletes

Musicians


Political

References

  1. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 11/15/10 through 11/19/10. National Park Service. 2010-11-26.
  5. ↑ Poston, Ted (17 July 1946). "Ask US to Probe Negro Vet's Blinding by Carolina Cops". New York Post. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  7. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

External links

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