Editing Latta, South Carolina (section)

==History==
Latta was established in 1887.<ref name=":0" /> The town arose from a need for a railroad, which helped to eliminate "the need to travel to [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], in order to reach many points in South Carolina."<ref name=":0" /> Thus, the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad]] built two depots; one in the city of [[Dillon, South Carolina|Dillon]] and the other {{convert|7|mi|0}} to the south in Latta.<ref name=":0" /> The depots were completed in 1888.<ref name=":0" /> Many families were drawn to this area, and in March 1890, "the town of Latta was incorporated by the state legislature and received its charter."<ref name=":0" />

The town was named for the Latta family of settlers.<ref>{{cite book| last=Gannett| first=Henry| title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States| url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ| year=1905| publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office| page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n131 182]}}</ref> More specifically, it was named after Captain Robert Latta, who was from [[York County, South Carolina]]; he orchestrated the engineering for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.<ref name=":0" /> Captain Latta not only surveyed the area for the railroad, but he also constructed the original plans for the town of Latta.<ref name=":0" /> Because of Latta's railroad facilities, the town grew rapidly, especially from 1900 to 1910.<ref name=":0" />

Latta has an established historic district, mostly located on Main Street, and many of these structures are listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name=":0" /> Latta has about 55 properties, constructed between ca. 1890 and ca. 1930, that are a part of the historic district.<ref>{{Cite web| title = National Register Sites in South Carolina| url = http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov| website = www.nationalregister.sc.gov| access-date = September 18, 2015}}</ref> Furthermore, Latta is home to one of the 13 [[Carnegie library|Carnegie]] public library buildings in South Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Carnegie Library buildings in South Carolina| url = http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/vts/epw53.html| website = www.libsci.sc.edu| access-date = September 18, 2015}}</ref> The Latta library opened in 1914 and is "one of five of South Carolina's original 14 Carnegie libraries still in use as a library."<ref>{{Cite web| title = Latta Library|date = May 12, 2014|url = http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/dillon-county/latta-library.html| access-date = September 18, 2015}}</ref> The post office in Latta has been in operation since 1888.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=SC&county=Dillon | title=Dillon County | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=June 12, 2015}}</ref>

In April 2014, Mayor Earl Bullard fired Police Chief Crystal Moore, allegedly because Moore is [[lesbian]]. Bullard said on the telephone, "I would much rather have — and I will say this to anybody's face — somebody who drank and drank too much taking care of my child than I had somebody whose lifestyle is questionable around children. … I'm not going to let two women stand up there and hold hands and let my child be aware of it. And I'm not going to see them do it with two men neither."<ref>[http://www.scnow.com/news/article_2e1af550-c693-11e3-8dd4-0017a43b2370.html?mode=jqm Latta council fights for chief's job; ''Morning News'', 2014]</ref>

In June 2014, Latta residents voted in favor of changing from a "[[Mayor–council government|strong mayor]]" government to a "strong council" government,<ref>[http://www.scnow.com/news/article_faf12f44-fbeb-11e3-8f7c-0017a43b2370.html Latta voters approve 'strong council' government; Morning News; June 24, 2014.]</ref> which allowed the town council to reinstate Crystal Moore as Latta's police chief, which they did unanimously on June 28, 2014.

===Registered historic sites===
The following are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]:<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> [[Joel Allen House]], [[Catfish Creek Baptist Church]], [[Cotton Press (Latta, South Carolina)|Early Cotton Press]], [[John Hayes Farmstead]], [[Latta Downtown Historic District]], [[Latta Historic District No. 1]], [[Latta Historic District No. 2]], [[McMillan House (Latta, South Carolina)|McMillan House]], and [[Old Ebenezer Church]].