Editing Greeleyville, South Carolina

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Greeleyville, South Carolina
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Greeleyville, SC.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Downtown Greeleyville, SC
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = Greeleyville_SC_Town_Seal.png

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = SCMap-doton-Greeleyville.PNG
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Greeleyville, South Carolina
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[South Carolina]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in South Carolina|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Williamsburg County, South Carolina|Williamsburg]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Jessie Parker
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = Incorporated
|established_date         = {{start date|1893|12|20}}

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='45'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.22
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.22
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
|population_total         = 384
|population_density_sq_mi = 313.98

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 24
|elevation_ft             = 79
|coordinates              = {{coord|33|34|53|N|79|59|22|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 29056
|area_code                = [[Area codes 843 and 854|843, 854]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 45-30535<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1245822<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|townofgreeleyville.com}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|area_total_km2 = 3.17
|area_land_km2 = 3.17
|area_water_km2 = 0.00
|population_density_km2 = 121.18
}}
'''Greeleyville''' is a [[town]] in [[Williamsburg County, South Carolina|Williamsburg County]], [[South Carolina]], United States. The population was 438 at the 2010 census. The town was originally chartered on December 20, 1893. Greeleyville's seal and flag feature a depiction of the first Town Hall, which was built in the 1890s, as well as two arms, one black and one white, holding a tobacco leaf and a cotton boll.<ref name='sciway'>{{cite web |title=Greeleyville, South Carolina |url=https://www.sciway.net/city/greeleyville.html |website=www.sciway.net |access-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref> These symbols represent the unity and cooperation among all the people of Greeleyville and pay tribute to the town's agricultural heritage.<ref name=sciway/>

Since 1982, the town has hosted an annual Flag Day celebration each [[Memorial Day]] weekend that features [[Bingo (American version)|bingo]], street dances, [[Barbecue in the United States|barbecue]], as well as various other types of vendors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jonté |first1=Bobby |title=35 years of Flag Day |url=https://manninglive.com/stories/35-years-of-flag-day,8719 |website=Manning Live |access-date=December 31, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=More S.C. Festivals |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/753083151/ |access-date=December 31, 2022 |work=The State (Columbia, South Carolina) |date=October 19, 1997}}</ref>

==History==
The area surrounding Greeleyville was once home to several Native American tribes, including the [[Wee Nee]], [[Winyaw|Wee Tee]], and [[Mingo]]es, who inhabited and utilized the region as hunting grounds into the eighteenth century.<ref name='Bierer'>{{cite book |last1=Bierer |first1=Bert W. |title=South Carolina Indian Lore |date=1972 |publisher=The State Printing Company |location=Columbia, S.C. |pages=8–9, 13–14}}</ref> A remnant population of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]], known as the Goins Indian Community, has lived just north of Greeleyville since the mid-nineteenth century, predating the town of Greeleyville.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Paredes |first1=J. Anthony |title=Indians of the Southeastern United States in the Late 20th Century |date=1992 |publisher=The University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, AL. |pages=75–77}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hicks |first1=Theresa M. |title=South Carolina Indians, Indian Traders, and Other Ethnic Connections |date=1998 |publisher=The Reprint Company |location=Spartanburg, SC |page=263 |edition=1st}}</ref> The community once maintained its own church and during the [[School segregation in the United States|era of racial segregation]], had a state-funded school that operated until 1949.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goins |first1=William Moreau |title=SC Native Pathways: A Visitor's & Resource Guide to American Indian Heritage & Historic Sites in South Carolina |date=2008 |publisher=Phoenix Publishers |location=Columbia, S.C. |page=40}}</ref> The community today still exists and alleges to be descended from the Wee Nee, among other historic tribes of the Carolinas.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goulding |first1=Shelbie |title=Greeleyville Band of Black River Indians regroups with plans to place grave markers in Sumter |url=https://www.theitem.com/stories/greeleyville-band-of-black-river-indians-regroups-with-plans-to-place-grave-markers-in-sumter,371127 |access-date=December 31, 2022 |work=The Sumter Item |language=en}}</ref>

The settlement of Greeleyville traces back to the late nineteenth century, when Samuel J. Taylor, a veteran of the [[American Civil War]], came to the present site of the town with his partner, S.J. Hudson.<ref name='HistoryofSC'>{{cite book |last1=Snowden |first1=Yates |title=History of South Carolina Vol. V |date=1920 |publisher=Lewis Publishing Company |location=New York |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTgVAAAAYAAJ |access-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref> The two together bought several hundred acres of timber and began the manufacture of [[turpentine]] and [[rosin]].<ref name=HistoryofSC/> Three years later Taylor bought out his partner and began to work with his brother-in-law, W.S. Varner.<ref name=HistoryofSC/> Taylor used his expertise in the mercantile industry to bring prosperity to the area and although his timber holdings became exhausted within the first fifteen years, opted to remain in the emerging town for both financial and sentimental reasons.<ref name=HistoryofSC/> Taylor owned 1,200 acres within present-day town limits and, in the pursuit of promoting a town community, would donate land to every industrious and capable man willing to build a home in the area. He also gave land freely for streets, churches, and schools within the town.<ref name=HistoryofSC/><ref name='SumterItem'>{{cite news |last1=Way |first1=Sammy |title=Carswell reports on Greeleyville in 1904 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/670613984/ |access-date=December 31, 2022 |work=The Sumter Item |agency=Newspapers.com |date=January 6, 2013}}</ref> Greeleyville obtained its name when Taylor, who was depending on the turpentine industry, had ordered a bill of goods for his store and was in need of an address.<ref name=SumterItem/> When Taylor, who was a staunch supporter of [[Horace Greeley]], presented the idea of naming the town to local residents, the majority voted in favor of naming the town in honor of Greeley.<ref name=SumterItem/> It is local lore that Greeley once visited the town and became stranded there, while campaigning for presidency.<ref name='parker'>{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Jim |title=Residents of Greeleyville like secluded, spruced-up, crime free community |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/78470301/ |access-date=December 31, 2022 |work=The Gaffney Ledger |agency=Newspapers.com |date=September 19, 1984}}</ref> On December 20, 1893, the town was officially chartered as Greeleyville.

Thomas Walter Boyle was a key figure in the development of Greeleyville during the early 20th century.<ref name='HistoryofSC2'>{{cite book |last1=Snowden |first1=Yates |title=History of South Carolina Vol. V |date=1920 |publisher=Lewis Publishing Company |location=New York |pages=58–59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTgVAAAAYAAJ |access-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref> He held several important positions in the town, including vice-president of the Mallard Lumber Company and president of the Bank of Greeleyville and the Greeleyville Land & Improvement Company. In 1904, Mallard Lumber Company had become the main enterprise of Greeleyville, shipping a variety of types of lumber north for sale.<ref name=SumterItem/> Boyle's efforts in local manufacturing, merchandising, and other fields significantly contributed to the growth and prosperity of Greeleyville.<ref name=HistoryofSC2/> Before Boyle's arrival in 1886, the town was relatively small, with only a saw mill, a single store, and two dwelling houses.<ref name=HistoryofSC2/> The nearest school and telegraph office were located several miles away in [[Foreston, South Carolina]].<ref name=HistoryofSC2/> Within thirty-five years, Greeleyville was characterized by various forms of industry and enterprise.<ref name=HistoryofSC2/>

By the mid twentieth century, most sources of employment once available to residents of Greeleyville were no longer existent and this led many to begin seeking work in other communities throughout the state.<ref name=parker/> In 1978, the town gained a medical center and four years later, in 1982, a pharmacy was opened on the site of the town's former mule and livery stable.<ref name=parker/> The town's only chain grocery store, [[IGA (supermarkets)|IGA]], moved to a larger location with expanded parking in 1984.<ref name=parker/> The store later closed and a Super G Foods Store opened in the same location before going out of business in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Linda W. |title=Empty grocery, Greeleyville, S.C. – Building a better South |url=https://www.bettersouth.org/2013/09/empty-grocery-greeleyville-s-c/ |website=www.bettersouth.org |access-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref> During the twenty-first century, many shops once located in downtown Greeleyville became abandoned due to competition with [[big-box store]]s and other businesses located along nearby [[U.S. Route 521|U.S. Highway 521]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Linda. W. |title=Main Street, Greeleyville, S.C. – Building a better South |url=https://www.bettersouth.org/2013/09/main-street-greeleyville-s-c/ |website=www.bettersouth.org |access-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref>

On May 21, 2021, the town of Greeleyville gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Jonte-Sabb Farmer's Market and Pavilion.<ref name='Jontesabb'>{{cite web |last1=Caines |first1=Richard |title=Jonte - Sabb Farmer's Market and Pavilion celebrates with ribbon cutting |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/kingstree/news/jonte---sabb-farmer-s-market-and-pavilion-celebrates-with-ribbon-cutting/article_51e6a86c-befc-11eb-817c-732613e0063f.html |website=The Post and Courier |access-date=December 31, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The structure is named for senator [[Ronnie A. Sabb]] and the late Leonard Jonte, the former CEO and president of the Bank of Greeleyville, who died in 2008.<ref name=Jontesabb/><ref name='Jonteobit'>{{cite web |title=Leonard Jonte Obituary |url=https://obits.postandcourier.com/us/obituaries/charleston/name/leonard-jonte-obituary?id=25753572 |website=postandcourier.com |access-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref> Jonte devoted countless hours to preserving and bettering the town, having co-founded the Greeleyville Flag Day Festival and having served on the Greeleyville Beautification Committee.<ref name=Jontesabb/><ref name=Jonteobit/>  He also purchased the Varner House, the former home of Samuel J. Taylor, which is thought to be the oldest structure in the town, and opened it to the public as a museum housing historical memorabilia.<ref name=Jonteobit/><ref>{{cite web |title=Varner House |url=https://www.scpictureproject.org/williamsburg-county/varner-house.html |website=SC Picture Project |access-date=December 31, 2022 |date=March 5, 2015}}</ref>

===Burning of Mt. Zion AME Church===
On the night of June 20, 1995, during a string of over thirty suspicious fires at [[African American]] churches between 1995 and 1996, [[Mount Zion AME Church (Greeleyville, South Carolina)|Mount Zion AME Church]] was burned as the result of arson by two [[Ku Klux Klan]] members.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ku Klux Klan : A History of Racism and Violence |date=1997 |publisher=Diane Pub Company |location=Montgomery, AL |isbn=9780788170317 |page=42}}</ref> President [[Bill Clinton]] traveled to Greeleyville in June 1996 to attend the dedication of the rebuilt church, vowing to enlist the full power of the federal government to put an end to the mass burnings of African American churches prevalent at the time.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Broder |first1=John M. |title=Clinton Vows to End Burnings of Black Churches |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/159049681/ |access-date=December 31, 2022 |work=The Los Angeles Times |agency=Newspapers.com |date=June 13, 1996}}</ref> The church became a national symbol of arsons following Clinton's visit to Greeleyville.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=David A. |title=The Burning and Re-Burning of a Black South Carolina Church |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/the-burning-and-re-burning-of-mt-zion-church/397490/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=December 31, 2022 |language=en |date=July 1, 2015}}</ref>

===Historic Sites===
Locations listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]:
*The [[Clarkson Farm Complex]]<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
*The [[McCollum-Murray House]]<ref name=nris/>
*[[New Market (Greeleyville, South Carolina)|New Market]]<ref name=nris/>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|1.2|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1900= 252
|1910= 630
|1920= 645
|1930= 474
|1940= 633
|1950= 600
|1960= 504
|1970= 542
|1980= 593
|1990= 464
|2000= 452
|2010= 438
|2020= 384
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:45&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Greeleyville town, South Carolina – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Greeleyville town, South Carolina |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US4530535&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Greeleyville town, South Carolina |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US4530535&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Greeleyville town, South Carolina |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US4530535&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|173
|121
|style='background: #ffffe6; |93
|38.27%
|27.63%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |24.22%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|263
|295
|style='background: #ffffe6; |268
|58.19%
|67.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |69.79%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|4
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.88%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|0
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.00%
|0.23%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|0
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |14
|0.00%
|2.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.65%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|12
|12
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|2.65%
|2.74%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.08%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''452'''
|'''438'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''384'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2009, there were 375 people, 163 households, and 118 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|390.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 188 housing units at an average density of {{convert|162.5|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 39.82% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 58.19% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.88% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.11% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]]. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.65% of the population.

There were 163 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.34.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,375, and the median income for a family was $32,344. Males had a median income of $27,969 versus $17,500 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $17,971. About 23.2% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 25.5% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==
* [[Clifton Newman]], Judge of the South Carolina Circuit Court
* [[Joshua Rogers]], Gospel singer and winner of the 5th season of [[Black Entertainment Television|BET]]'s ''[[Sunday Best (American TV series)|Sunday Best]]''

==See also==
* [[Mount Zion AME Church (Greeleyville, South Carolina)]]
*[[Horace Greeley]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{official website}}

{{Williamsburg County, South Carolina}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1893 establishments in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1893]]
[[Category:Towns in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Towns in Williamsburg County, South Carolina]]