Darlington, South Carolina
Darlington, South Carolina | ||
---|---|---|
FIPS code 45-18565[3] | | |
GNIS feature ID | 1247486[4] | |
Website | cityofdarlington |
Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States.[5] In 2010, its population was 6,289.[6] It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Darlington is known for its
Darlington is located 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Florence and 76 miles (122 km) northeast of the state capital, Columbia.
History
Early history
Darlington's origins date back to the mid-18th century.
Originally a heavily wooded area, the settlement of what is now Darlington County began in earnest after 1736 and 1737 when the
For 30 years following the arrival of the first settlers, local government did not exist for the citizens of the area. All deeds, estate settlements, and other legal matters had to be taken to Charles Town to be recorded. In 1769, by an Act of the Assembly, Cheraw District was established as a Judicial District. A courthouse and jail were built at Long Bluff (near present-day Society Hill), and were operational by late 1772.
After the Revolutionary War, in 1785, Cheraw District was divided into three counties, Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington. Darlington County was bounded by the Pee Dee River), Lynches River, and Cedar Creek. To this day it is unknown why the county was named "Darlington", although it could be named after the town of the same name in County Durham, England. After 1798 the designation "county" was changed to "district". In 1835, the city of Darlington became the new county seat. In the 1868 South Carolina Constitution, the designation reverted to "county".
Florence County was created out of parts of Darlington and Marion counties in 1888. Darlington County gave up additional territory in 1902 when Lee County was created.[8]
Darlington Court House and Public Square
Darlington was originally built around the public square and the courthouse. Both now sit in their present location because of an argument between two men, Colonel Lamuel Benton and Captain Elias Dubose, in the late 18th century. The tale goes that the disagreement began over whether the courthouse should be located in Mechanicsville or Cuffey Town. It was said that the two compromised, each beginning in their town traveling on horseback until reaching one another. The spot where they met is now the site of the Darlington public square and courthouse. A fire in March 1806 destroyed the original courthouse. It was rumored at the time that an old woman was responsible for the flames in an attempt to burn papers connected to her coming court case. Between 1824 and 1825 it was rebuilt with brick due to a petition to build all buildings on the public square in brick to prevent the spread of fire. In 1835, the courthouse was chartered.
Historic sites
The
Early churches
In the 1820s, denominations, mostly the
The Civil War
No battles during the
The Darlington Guards
Prior to the Civil War, as the South readied itself for
Geography
Darlington is located southeast of the center of Darlington County at 34°18′5″N 79°52′7″W / 34.30139°N 79.86861°W (34.301370, -79.868659).[10] U.S. Routes 52 and 401 bypass the city on the southwest. US 52 leads southeast 10 miles (16 km) to Florence, US 401 leads southwest 38 miles (61 km) to Sumter, and the two highways together lead 17 miles (27 km) north to Society Hill. South Carolina Highway 34 passes through the center of Darlington, leading east 36 miles (58 km) to Dillon and west 23 miles (37 km) to Bishopville. Columbia, the state capital, is 76 miles (122 km) to the west.
Darlington Raceway is located on the western outskirts of town, 2 miles (3 km) west of the city center along SC 34/151. It is mostly famous for hosting the Southern 500 in the NASCAR Cup Series, one of the championship's most enduring events.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Darlington has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.8 km2), all land.[6]
Climate
Darlington has a
Unusually for an area in the Eastern United States, the heat record since records began was set on September 4, 1925, at 109 °F (43 °C).
Climate data for Darlington, South Carolina, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 82 (28) |
86 (30) |
99 (37) |
97 (36) |
103 (39) |
106 (41) |
108 (42) |
106 (41) |
109 (43) |
99 (37) |
90 (32) |
84 (29) |
109 (43) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 74.5 (23.6) |
77.7 (25.4) |
83.7 (28.7) |
88.1 (31.2) |
93.1 (33.9) |
97.2 (36.2) |
98.5 (36.9) |
97.2 (36.2) |
93.4 (34.1) |
87.1 (30.6) |
80.3 (26.8) |
74.9 (23.8) |
99.5 (37.5) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 56.5 (13.6) |
60.0 (15.6) |
67.5 (19.7) |
76.3 (24.6) |
83.2 (28.4) |
89.0 (31.7) |
92.0 (33.3) |
89.8 (32.1) |
84.7 (29.3) |
75.8 (24.3) |
66.2 (19.0) |
58.6 (14.8) |
75.0 (23.9) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 44.3 (6.8) |
47.0 (8.3) |
53.8 (12.1) |
62.4 (16.9) |
70.8 (21.6) |
77.9 (25.5) |
81.2 (27.3) |
79.3 (26.3) |
73.9 (23.3) |
63.5 (17.5) |
53.0 (11.7) |
46.6 (8.1) |
62.8 (17.1) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 32.0 (0.0) |
34.0 (1.1) |
40.1 (4.5) |
48.5 (9.2) |
58.5 (14.7) |
66.8 (19.3) |
70.3 (21.3) |
68.8 (20.4) |
63.0 (17.2) |
51.2 (10.7) |
39.9 (4.4) |
34.5 (1.4) |
50.6 (10.4) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 17.9 (−7.8) |
22.0 (−5.6) |
26.3 (−3.2) |
34.8 (1.6) |
45.4 (7.4) |
57.3 (14.1) |
63.4 (17.4) |
61.1 (16.2) |
52.1 (11.2) |
37.0 (2.8) |
26.7 (−2.9) |
22.5 (−5.3) |
16.3 (−8.7) |
Record low °F (°C) | −4 (−20) |
4 (−16) |
14 (−10) |
20 (−7) |
34 (1) |
45 (7) |
52 (11) |
50 (10) |
36 (2) |
24 (−4) |
14 (−10) |
6 (−14) |
−4 (−20) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.62 (92) |
3.45 (88) |
3.60 (91) |
3.12 (79) |
4.00 (102) |
4.69 (119) |
4.97 (126) |
5.61 (142) |
4.54 (115) |
3.40 (86) |
3.14 (80) |
3.74 (95) |
47.88 (1,215) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.2 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 7.5 | 8.4 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 9.0 | 103.4 |
Source 1: NOAA[12] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: National Weather Service[11] |
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1880 | 940 | — | |
1890 | 2,389 | 154.1% | |
1900 | 3,028 | 26.7% | |
1910 | 3,789 | 25.1% | |
1920 | 4,669 | 23.2% | |
1930 | 5,556 | 19.0% | |
1940 | 6,236 | 12.2% | |
1950 | 6,619 | 6.1% | |
1960 | 6,710 | 1.4% | |
1970 | 6,990 | 4.2% | |
1980 | 7,989 | 14.3% | |
1990 | 7,311 | −8.5% | |
2000 | 6,720 | −8.1% | |
2010 | 6,289 | −6.4% | |
2020 | 6,149 | −2.2% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[2] |
2020 census
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White
|
2,127 | 34.59% |
Black or African American
|
3,712 | 60.37% |
Native American
|
11 | 0.18% |
Asian
|
49 | 0.8% |
Pacific Islander
|
2 | 0.03% |
Other/Mixed
|
140 | 2.28% |
Latino
|
108 | 1.76% |
As of the
2010 census
As of the
2000 census
As of the
There were 2,812 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.3% were married couples living together, 24.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,869, and the median income for a family was $33,971. Males had a median income of $28,110 versus $20,206 for females. The
Government
The current mayor of Darlington is Curtis Boyd.
Education
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
In 1818, Darlington's growth proved time to build a school. The first schoolhouse opened was named The Darlington Academy. In 1860, the name was changed to St. John's Academy. This building served educational purposes, as well as the site for fund-raising and the lottery. St. John's Academy was later renamed St. John's High School. Later during renovation, St. John's Elementary School was added, followed by the move to a new school in 1977. It was renamed Darlington High School, when it was combined with Mayo High School in 1995.
In September 2006, work was finished on The Darlington County Institute of Technology, Darlington Middle School, and Hartsville Middle School.
After
Today, the Darlington County School District serves as the governing body over all schools in the county.
Darlington has a public library, a branch of the Darlington County Library System.[14]
In popular culture
Darlington was mentioned in the Bruce Springsteen song "Darlington County", off his 1984 album Born in the U.S.A.
Darlington is the home of Rawls 7, a "touchman" or
A 2012 article in Small Wars Journal explored a hypothetical military operation in which an extremist group sympathetic to the Tea Party movement takes over Darlington and clashes with federal troops.[15] Conservative groups criticized the article, suggesting it reflected misplaced priorities.[16][17]
The town plays a major role in the season 2 episode "The Darlington 500" of the NBC series Timeless. In the episode, Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus travel to September 4, 1955, to stop a Rittenhouse agent from destroying the Darlington 500 with a bomb, which would allow Rittenhouse to take over the American Automobile Industry.
Darlington is the hometown of Marvel Comics supervillain, Zelda DuBois, Princess Python.[18] She first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #22 in March of 1965, being created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.[19]
Notable people
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2012) |
- David Beasley, 113th Governor of South Carolina (1995–99), executive director of World Food Programme
- Harry Byrd, Major League Baseball pitcher, 1952 Rookie of the Year
- Coker College
- Dorsey Dixon, musician and songwriter
- William G. Farrow, participant in Doolittle Raid
- Tommy Gainey, professional golfer, PGA Tour
- Raymond A. Harris, former chairman of South Carolina Republican Party
- Orlando Hudson, Major League Baseball player for San Diego Padres[23]
- Buddy Johnson, jazz musician
- Ella Johnson, singer
- Evander M. Law, Civil War general
- David Rogerson Williams, governor and scientific experimenter, introduced mule to Southern agriculture
- Hyman Witcover, architect
References
- ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ a b "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ a b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Darlington city, South Carolina". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ Darlington County, A Pictorial History, The Donning Co., 1986.
- ^ This history was copied out of Darlington District, S.C. Cemetery Survey Volume One, compiled by members of the Old Darlington District Chapter of the South Carolina Genealogical Society. Copyright 1993.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Wilmington". National Weather Service. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ a b "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Darlington, SC". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ "South Carolina libraries and archives". SCIWAY. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ^ Benson, Kevin; Weber, Jennifer (2012). "Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A 'Vision' of the Future". Small Wars Journal. Small Wars Foundation. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ "Editorial: The Civil War of 2016". The Washington Times. August 7, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Peck, Michael (November 15, 2012). "How the U.S. Military Would Crush a Tea Party Rebellion". Forbes. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ "Princess Python Powers, Enemies, History | Marvel". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1465478900.
- ^ "Gloria Hines by ten for Darlington Mayor". November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Darlington swears in its first African American mayor". January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Darlington mayor says she accomplished a lot in 4 years". December 4, 2019.
- ^ "Orlando Hudson Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 21, 2012.