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Aiken, South Carolina

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Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement

Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025,<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts" /> making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area.

Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the South Carolina Railroad. It became part of Aiken County when the county was formed in 1871. In the late 19th century, Aiken gained fame as a wintering spot for wealthy people from the Northeast. Thomas Hitchcock, Sr. and William C. Whitney established the Aiken Winter Colony. Over the years Aiken became a winter home for many notable people, including George H. Bostwick, James B. Eustis, Madeleine Astor, William Kissam Vanderbilt, Eugene Grace, president of Bethlehem Steel, Allan Pinkerton, and W. Averell Harriman.

Aiken is home to the University of South Carolina Aiken.

History

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File:Old-Aiken-PO.jpg
The Old Aiken Post Office in downtown Aiken

The municipality of Aiken was incorporated on December 19, 1835. The community formed around the terminus of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, a rail line from Charleston to the Savannah River, and was named for William Aiken, the railroad's first president.

During Sherman's March to the Sea in the American Civil War Sherman ordered Hugh Judson Kilpatrick and the cavalry corps he commanded to march through South Carolina. By February 5, they had reached Aiken County. While in Aiken County Kilpatrick fought Joseph Wheeler and his cavalry corps. This battle, called the Battle of Aiken, was a Confederate victory.<ref>"Battle of Aiken". Template:Usurped. Retrieved 2 October 2017.</ref><ref>"The Yellow House and the Battle of Aiken". Aiken Regional Medical Centers. 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2020-09-23.</ref><ref>"Battle of Aiken Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2020-09-23.</ref>

Originally it was in the Edgefield District. With population increases, in 1871 Aiken County was organized, made up of parts of neighboring counties. Among its founding commissioners were three African-American legislators: Prince Rivers; Samuel J. Lee, speaker of the state House and the first black man admitted to the South Carolina Bar; and Charles D. Hayne, a free man of color from one of Charleston's elite families.<ref name="nesbitt">Jim Nesbitt, "County, once booming, now shadows town it used to rival" Template:Webarchive, Augusta Chronicle, 16 February 2004</ref>

Aiken was a planned town, and many of the streets in the historic district are named for other cities and counties in South Carolina, including Abbeville, Barnwell, Beaufort, Chesterfield, Colleton, Columbia, Dillon, Edgefield, Edisto, Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Orangeburg, Pendleton, Pickens, Richland, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg and York.

Between 1890 and the 1920s, many Jewish immigrants settled in Aiken. The Jewish immigrants were from Eastern Europe, including Russia and Poland. Many were from Knyszyn, Poland. In 1905, a group of Russian-Jewish socialists from New York founded a farming colony in Aiken County that was known as "Happyville". Adath (Adas) Yeshurun (Congregation of Israel) Synagogue was chartered in Aiken in 1921 and the cornerstone was laid in 1925. An historical marker was added to the synagogue in 2014, sponsored by the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1903, the Jewish-American peddler Abraham Surasky was the victim of an antisemitic murder that occurred near Aiken.<ref name="The Old World Meets the New">Template:Cite web</ref>

Aiken was the subject of a series of broadcasts by Orson Welles in July and August 1946 regarding the blinding and severe beating of Sergeant Isaac Woodard, a black World War II veteran.

Savannah River Plant

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The United States Atomic Energy Commission's selection of a site near Aiken for a plant to produce fuel for thermonuclear weapons was announced on November 30, 1950. Residences and businesses at Ellenton, South Carolina, were bought for use for the plant site. Residents were moved to New Ellenton, which was constructed about eight miles north, or to neighboring towns.

The site was named the Savannah River Plant, and renamed the Savannah River Site in 1989. The facility contains five production reactors, fuel fabrication facilities, a research laboratory, heavy water production facilities, two fuel reprocessing facilities, and tritium recovery facilities.

Geography and climate

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Template:Maplink Aiken is near the center of Aiken County. It is Template:Convert northeast of Augusta, Georgia, along U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 78. Interstate 20 passes Template:Convert to the north of the city, with access via South Carolina Highway 19 (exit 18) and US 1 (exit 22).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.60%) is water.<ref name="TigerWebMapServer"/>

Aiken has a humid subtropical climate characterized by hot, humid summers and cool, dry winters, but experiences milder temperatures throughout the year than the rest of the state. Precipitation is distributed relatively uniformly throughout the year, with mostly rain in the milder months and occasional snow in the winter. The coldest recorded temperature was Template:Convert on January 21, 1985, and the hottest Template:Convert on August 21, 1983.

Template:Weather box

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

2020 census

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Aiken racial composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 19,757 61.69%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 9,076 28.34%
Native American 51 0.16%
Asian 640 2.0%
Pacific Islander 13 0.04%
Other/mixed 1,271 3.97%
Hispanic or Latino 1,217 3.8%

As of the 2020 census, there were 32,025 people, 12,923 households, and 8,479 families residing in the city.

2010 census

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At the 2010 census,<ref name="GR2"/> there were 29,524 people and 12,773 households with a population density was Template:Convert. There were 14,162 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 66.8% White, 28.5% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.6% of the population.

There were 10,287 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.6% 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 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,100, and the median income for a family was $63,520. Males had a median income of $51,988 versus $28,009 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,129. About 10.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

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Aiken is governed via a council–manager system. A mayor is elected at large. The city council consists of six members. All six members are elected from single-member districts.<ref name="AikenMayor">Template:Cite web</ref>

  • Mayor: Teddy Milner
  • District 1: Gail Diggs
  • District 2: Lessie Price
  • District 3: Kay Brohl
  • District 4: Ed Girardeau
  • District 5: Andrea Neira Gregory
  • District 6: Ed Woltz

Previous mayors

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Aiken has had four previous mayors as of November 7, 2023, when Teddy Milner became the fifth mayor of Aiken.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The previous mayors include:

  • Dr. Edward Holbrook Wyman Sr. (1942–1946; died during his second term) – Served for 4 years.
  • H. Odell Weeks (1946–1990; retired) – Served for 44 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Fred Cavanaugh (1991–2015; retired) – Served for 24 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Rick Osbon (2015–2023; lost re-election to Teddy Milner) – Served for eight years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Historic places

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Education

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It is within the Aiken County Public School District.<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

Schools

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Template:Div col

  • Public schools:
  • Private schools:
    • Aiken Christian School
    • Mead Hall Episcopal School
    • Palmetto Academy Day School
    • St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School
    • Second Baptist Christian Preparatory School
    • South Aiken Baptist Christian School
    • Town Creek Christian Academy <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Charter schools:
    • Lloyd Kennedy Charter School
    • Tall Pines Stem Academy
    • Horse Creek Academy

Template:Div col end

Colleges and universities

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Library

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Aiken has a public library, a branch of the ABBE Regional Library System.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Steeplechase racing

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The Aiken Steeplechase Association,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> founded in 1930, hosts the Imperial Cup each March and the Holiday Cup in October, both races sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association. This event draws more than 30,000 spectators.

The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous flat racing and steeplechase thoroughbred horses trained at the Aiken Training Track.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other events

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Aiken hosts many polo matches at its numerous polo fields. Other local events include:

  • Aiken Triple Crown
  • Aiken's Makin'
  • Battle of Aiken Reenactment
  • Bluegrass Festival
  • Fall Steeplechase
  • Hops & Hogs
  • The Lobster Races
  • Western Carolina State Fair
  • The Whiskey Road Race
  • Aiken City Limits (ACL)

Attractions

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  • Aiken Center for Arts, hosts educational classes, a fine arts gallery, and exhibition opportunities
  • Aiken County Farmers Market, oldest food market in South Carolina<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Aiken County Historical Museum, also known as "Banksia" after the banksia rose, displays special exhibits of items from residents
  • Aiken State Park
  • Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum, displays the area's thoroughbred history
  • Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum, railroad depot has nine dioramas depicting railroad history on the second floor
  • Center for African American History, Art, and Culture, hosts special events on African American history
  • DuPont Planetarium and RPSEC Observatory, provides live presentations of stars, constellations, and visible planets
  • Hitchcock Woods, one of the largest urban forests in the United States, at 2100 acres<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Juilliard in Aiken, live artistic performances, classes, lectures, and workshops
  • Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site, slaves' and owners' lives depicted
  • Rose Hill Estate, historic housing estate

Notable people

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In the late 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, Aiken served as a winter residence for many of the country's wealthiest families, such as the Vanderbilts, Bostwicks, and the Whitneys.

See also

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Notes

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References

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Template:Commons category Template:Wikivoyage Template:EB1911 poster

Template:Aiken County, South Carolina Template:Central Savannah River Area Template:South Carolina Template:South Carolina county seats Template:Authority control

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