Editing Ninety Six, South Carolina (section)

==== Revitalization of Ninety Six<!-- There are no online sources I could find on this, other than some PDF's on archive.org that I uploaded which were from a member of the H96DA. -->====
[[File:Lou Ellen Dr, Ninety Six.jpg|thumb|After the revitalization, many businesses were added to Lou Ellen Drive.]]
In 2007, the Town of Ninety Six, with the help of [[Clemson University]], launched an initiative to address the economic decline and deterioration of the city, following the loss of [[Textile manufacturing|textile]] jobs.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Wells |first=Donna |date=July 10, 2007 |title=Revitalization Public Presentation |url=https://archive.org/details/ninety-six-sc-revitalization/Public%20Presentation%20July%2010%2C%202007/ |journal=H96DA Archival}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first= |date=April 2008 |title=2008 Clemson's Recommended Economic Development Strategies |url=https://archive.org/details/ninety-six-sc-revitalization/Revitalalization%20Clemson%27s%20Development%20Strategies%20Review%20April%202010/}}</ref>

On July 10, 2007, community leaders, most members of the [[Historic 96 Development Association]], held a public presentation outlining the plan for the project.  The project's mission was to ''"restore pride, beauty and a sense of history to the Town of Ninety Six."''<ref name=":12" />

The initiative received broad support from locals, raising $28,533 of its $29,333 planning budget through pledges from the town, the Ninety Six Chamber of Commerce, [[Greenwood County, South Carolina|Greenwood County]], and local businesses.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Donna |date=July 24, 2007 |title=Revitalization invoice |url=https://archive.org/details/ninety-six-sc-revitalization/Revitalization%20invoice/}}</ref> The project was also awarded a $29,325 grant from the South Carolina Budget and Control Board to fund streetscape improvements on Main and Cambridge Streets.

The planning of the project began with a multi-day "[[charrette]]" held in January 2008, where Clemson representatives had public input sessions with residents, businesses, government officials, and tourism leaders. Following the charrette, the town formed a committee and multiple task forces.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Donna |date=December 11, 2008 |title=Implementation Task Force Meeting |url=https://archive.org/details/ninety-six-sc-revitalization/Revitalalization%20Time%20frame%20December%2C%202008/}}</ref>

By 2012, the task force had:

* Installed benches, street lamps, [[signage]], and planters downtown.
* Restored the [[Ninety Six station|Ninety Six Depot]], which was later added to [[National Register of Historic Places|The National Register of Historic Places]] in 2011.
* Promoted downtown businesses by organizing events like the [[Festival of Stars]].
* Enforced building codes, updated ordinances, and regulated public cleanliness.<ref name=":02"/>