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Location and Description

Clarendon Country is located in the east central portion of South Carolina (See Map 1). The county covers 606.94 square miles with Lake Marion, located in the southern portion of the county, covering an additional 95 square miles of the county (See Map 2). Most of the land is predominantly sand and loamy soils. Clarendon County has a moderate climate with very warm summers and mild winters. The average precipitation is 55 inches per year. The growing season is 225 days, so farmers have a long season to grow crops. Some of the major crops grown in Clarendon County are cotton, tobacco, corn and soybean. According to Core Based Statistical Classifications, Clarendon County is classified as a non-core area, and therefore is neither a metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area. As seen in Table 1, there are only 57.60 people per square mile in Clarendon County, significantly less than South Carolina.

History and Culture

Clarendon, South Carolina was first established in 1785. The town was named after Edward Hyde, whom was a Lord Proprietor and Earl of Clarendon. However, Clarendon was not officially chartered as an independent county of South Carolina until 1855. Manning is the county seat and center of Clarendon County. It is named after John Laurence Manning, governor of South Carolina from 1852-1854. Before the establishment of what is now deemed Clarendon County, SC, the Battle of Half Way Swamp took place December of 1780. This is one of the many battles that took place in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Various other battles that took place in the general area are the Battle of Richbourg’s Mill, Battle of Nelson’s Ferry, Battle of Fort Watson/Santee Indian Mound, and the Battle of Tearcoat. There is now a Swamp Fox Murals Trail which is a historical landmark depicting the American Revolution and General Francis Marion. The first white settlers in Clarendon County were French Huguenots, who came up the Santee River. Transportation of goods by land was difficult so canals were established as a solution to the problem. The first notable canal during this time was the Santee Canal, which underwent construction in 1793. But due to the rise in popularity for railroads, the canal was shut down shortly after. However, in 1938, the canal was once again looked to as a natural resource and made into a man-made lake. During this time, hydroelectric plants were also being constructed in Clarendon County. There were two court cases in Clarendon County that led to the historic Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that separate but equal schools were unconstitutional. These were Levi Pearson v. Clarendon County Board of Education (1947), and Briggs v Elliot (1952 .   Summerton's Cultural Arts Center and Weldon Auditorium in Manning are home to a diverse mix of cultural activities, including plays, concerts by nationally renowned artists and ballet performances alongside a medley of local artists.

Natural Capital One of the major natural resources that are easily available in Clarendon County is ground-water. Clarendon County has abundant ground-water resources of good quality. The Department of Natural Resources report on the ground-water resources in Clarendon suggests that the county is in a fortunate position for obtaining adequate water for domestic and public supplies, industry, and irrigation. Water is obtained chiefly from sand aquifers in the Black Creek and Middendorf Formations. Clarendon County’s most valuable natural assets are its groundwater resources. Clarendon County is well endowed with ground water suitable for all uses. Quantities obtainable from wells are adequate for public supplies, industrial uses, and irrigation. Well yields as great as 1,500 gallons per minute are obtained, and many wells can produce more than 100 gallons per minute. The water is of good quality, being soft and low in mineral content. There are five public water-supply systems in Clarendon County. In 2008 the systems had the following pumpage rates, in millions of gallons per day:

Alcolu Water System—0.05 Barrineau Water System—0.09 Manning—1.07 Summerton—0.33 Turbeville—0.30

The Alcolu and Barrineau water systems support a water use of less than 200 gallons/day per person, indicating that those systems are basically rural domestic in type. The three towns, Manning, Summerton, and Turbeville, have per capita water uses of 194, 158, and 288 gallons/day. This reflects the commercial and industrial use of water from these municipal systems. Clarendon County has abundant ground-water resources of good quality. Considering yields of wells, depths of aquifers, and quality of water, the county is in a fortunate position for obtaining adequate water for domestic and public supplies, industry, and irrigation. Water is obtained chiefly from sand aquifers in the Black Creek and Middendorf Formations. Quality of the groundwater is generally good, as indicated by the available chemical analyses. The water is soft and low in total dissolved solids, and the pH is usually above 7.0. Iron does not appear to be present in excessive concentrations. Clarendon County has a wide range of outdoor activities available. From boating, fishing, hiking and hunting to golf on some of the world’s finest courses, Clarendon offers outdoor enthusiasts a buffet of things to do. Situated on Lake Marion, Clarendon County is known for its championship-level catches of striped bass. Clarendon’s Lake Marion is also home to several professional bass fishing tournaments including the world-famous Citgo/Bassmasters Tournament and the Wal-Mart/FLW tour. Reader’s Digest magazine named Lake Marion one of “America’s 100 Best” for fishing and specifically pointed to the lake’s catfish. Hunting is also a popular activity in Clarendon County with opportunities to hunt deer, turkey or other small game animals. There are several sporting clay operations and gun ranges throughout the county as well as hunting preserves are devoted to providing hunters a controlled environment. Clarendon County has a wide range of hiking trails as well.

Demographics

As of 2010, the population of Clarendon County was 34,971. It is interesting to note that the population has only slightly increased since 1920; only 20 percent compared to 71 percent for South Carolina. From 1920 to 1930 and from 1950 to 1970, there were significant declines in population, 16 percent and 26 percent respectively. As seen in Table, the majority of the population of Clarendon County is Black or African American (50.1 %), whereas 27.9 percent of the State of South Carolina is Black or African; White or Caucasians comprise 47 percent and 62 percent of the population in Clarendon County and South Carolina, respectively. In regards to education, 13.4% of the population had Bachelor’s degree, which is approximately 10% less than the state of South Carolina. There is a higher percentage of elderly, aged 65 and older, in Clarendon County in comparison to South Carolina, 17.6% and 14.1% respectively. It is suggested that the population of Clarendon County is deeply rooted in the area as over 90% of the population has been living in the same house for at least a year. The median household income is $33,355, approximately $10,000 less than the State of South Carolina.