Society Hill, South Carolina

Template:Pp-vandalism Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Society Hill is a town in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States alongside the Pee Dee River. It is the oldest community in Darlington County and one of the first towns founded in South Carolina. The town was once the intellectual center of the Pee Dee region. However, the town's fortunes declined in the 19th century after rivers became less important as means of transportation. It is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In the 2020 census, the population of Society Hill was 438, down from 563 in 2010, 700 in 2000 and 848 in 1980. Society Hill was originally settled in the 18th century by a colony of Baptists, who named the community after their "St. David's Society," the predecessor to the Society Hill Library Society.

History

Welsh settlers came to the Society Hill area from Pennsylvania and Delaware in 1736.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> It was the first settlement in Darlington County.<ref name="history">Template:Cite web</ref> The Welsh settlers were Baptists and named the community after St. David's Society.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The town was a center of intellectual life in the Pee Dee region in the 18th and early 19th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> St. David's Society educated leading men like James Lide Coker, founder of Sonoco and Coker University.<ref name=":0" /> Its library built in 1812 is the second oldest lending-library in South Carolina.<ref name=":0" /> A new library, a branch of the Darlington County Library System, was built in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Society Hill began to decline as rivers became less important as means of transportation.<ref name=":0" /> Business in the region shifted to surrounding towns such as Cheraw and Hartsville.<ref name=":0" /> The population of the town peaked in 1980 with around 848 people.<ref name=":0" /> In the 2010 census, the population of Society Hill was 563, down from 700 in 2000.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, Preservation South Carolina, a nonprofit organization, began a plan to sell eight historic buildings to preservation-minded purchasers within Society Hill. It was the organization's largest preservation effort at that time.<ref name=":0" /> At the time, Society Hill did not have any zoning laws to protect such buildings.<ref name=":0" />

Geography

Society Hill is located in northern Darlington County at Template:Coord (34.513827, -79.851005),<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> on high ground rising to the west of the Pee Dee River. U.S. Routes 15 and 52 pass through the town. US 15 leads northeast Template:Convert to Bennettsville and Template:Convert to Laurinburg, North Carolina, and southwest Template:Convert to Hartsville. US 52 leads north Template:Convert to Cheraw and south Template:Convert to Darlington, the county seat. The two highways merge at the north end of town and pass through it as Main Street before diverging Template:Convert southwest of the town limits.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="Census 2010"/> The Pee Dee River, which separates Darlington County from Marlboro County, is Template:Convert to the northeast of the town via US 15.

Demographics

2020 census

Society Hill town, South Carolina – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	311	248	200	44.43%	44.05%	45.66%
Black or African American alone (NH)	376	288	207	53.71%	51.15%	47.26%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	1	4	2	0.14%	0.71%	0.46%
Asian alone (NH)	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	5	0	0	0.71%	0.00%	0.00%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	3	11	20	0.43%	1.95%	4.57%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	4	12	9	0.57%	2.13%	2.05%
Total	700	563	438	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 700 people, 269 households, and 203 families residing in the town. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 317 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the town was 44.43% White, 54.00% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.86% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 269 households, out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,057, and the median income for a family was $37,875. Males had a median income of $25,662 versus $18,516 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,005. About 13.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

The town was the birthplace of Gashouse Gang member Pat Crawford and the Oklahoma jurist Henry Marshall Furman. The Welsh Neck-Long Bluff-Society Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Japonica Hall was listed separately in 1989.<ref name="nris">Template:NRISref</ref> Former Governor David Beasley was from Society Hill and represented the area in the South Carolina House of Representatives for almost twenty years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>