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Forgotten or absorbed towns across South Carolina

Driving back from Hilton Head Saturday several of those towns are now ghost towns. Saw an elementary school (Robertville) long since shut down. And that got me thinking.
The list of schools, towns, that are no more is a large one. But the stories, maybe from a lot of you, are still there.
But to keep it sports related, what are some schools that were once great. Only to be merged or done away with altogether? In my area, before my time there were Leavelle McCampbell and Langley/Bath/Clearwater (LBC) high schools. Both had some success in football. I always thought the merging of those two (Midland Valley) would produce more of the same. Pretty much not the case in 40 years.
St. Johns High of Darlington and McCleneghan High of Florence. Darlington went for six years in the late 50s and early 60s with only 3 losses, all to McCleneghan High.
 
My mother grew up in Scotia, S.C. It lies along U.S. 321 in Hampton County, three miles south of Estill. My grandmother had the post office and a general store there. The Seaboard trains, not the Silver Meteor, stopped there to take on passengers and mail. It was before my time, but there were several stores and even a hotel there. Now there are a couple of gas stops on the highway and the train depot is gone.
 
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Golden Tornados ... but the right weather incident.
D’town WEST In Greenville is a HOT spot d’town . Fortunately and Unfortunately.... housing in that area
is totally flipping. Investors are buying, tearing down and rebuilding throughout the Parker area.
5 years from now or thereabouts.... The original families or older folks will definitely not recognize
the area. Always had fun playing Parker in sports. Lots of buds went there. My son actually went there
while they remodeled Greenville High School.
( sorry for the babbling 😎)
 
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The dearth of textiles has never been redeemed by anything else in most such towns. Lancaster and Chester are pitiful. Lancaster County is booming in the Indian Land area but the city has deteriorated tragically.
Kershaw's only saving grace is the mine. And it's booming, figuratively and literally.
 
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Andrews was the first one that I thought of too.

I'll tell you a small town that seems to be thriving is Cameron (or so it appears to be whenever I drive through). Wonder what they did to keep people and their money from leaving? I assume it's the farming industry but really know nothing about the town.

Have y'all seen the articles about certain places enticing people that now work from home to move to their rural areas? (West Virginia is the one the comes to mind, but I believe other smaller cities/towns are doing the same). It would be nice if there was a push to revitalize these towns by enticing remote workers to move there somehow.
 
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Driving back from Hilton Head Saturday several of those towns are now ghost towns. Saw an elementary school (Robertville) long since shut down. And that got me thinking.
The list of schools, towns, that are no more is a large one. But the stories, maybe from a lot of you, are still there.
But to keep it sports related, what are some schools that were once great. Only to be merged or done away with altogether? In my area, before my time there were Leavelle McCampbell and Langley/Bath/Clearwater (LBC) high schools. Both had some success in football. I always thought the merging of those two (Midland Valley) would produce more of the same. Pretty much not the case in 40 years.
I’m a gloverville product till I was 12.I remember going to the graniteville rocks games and my dad burning his clutch on the steap hill up by leavelle/mcCampbell.(I went there for 1 year) I didn’t have much but I had a great childhood.
 
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How is Laurens doing? I have family from there. Haven't been there is decades.
 
Andrews was the first one that I thought of too.

I'll tell you a small town that seems to be thriving is Cameron (or so it appears to be whenever I drive through). Wonder what they did to keep people and their money from leaving?
Does the interstate pass by or not, simple as that. The towns off the exits grow. The towns like Saluda that are missed by 20 and 26 stagnate
 
The story of Ellenton, New Ellenton, and the Savannah River Site is beyond belief.
The government buys a whole town for nuclear site, moves the whole town.

Pat Conroy included the story in The Prince Of Tides. Several critics called this element of the story, “typical Southern Fantastical Exaggeration and Hogwash!”
Conroy’s response was something like, “You Goddamn Yankee idiot snobs, look it up!!! It’s Ellenton and New Ellenton!”
I knew a man that helped move homes and stores from Ellington to their new home in New Ellington.
 
Driving back from Hilton Head Saturday several of those towns are now ghost towns. Saw an elementary school (Robertville) long since shut down. And that got me thinking.
The list of schools, towns, that are no more is a large one. But the stories, maybe from a lot of you, are still there.
But to keep it sports related, what are some schools that were once great. Only to be merged or done away with altogether? In my area, before my time there were Leavelle McCampbell and Langley/Bath/Clearwater (LBC) high schools. Both had some success in football. I always thought the merging of those two (Midland Valley) would produce more of the same. Pretty much not the case in 40 years.

Paris......back in high school we get some adult beverages & go liberate it....yeehaw
 
Does the interstate pass by or not, simple as that. The towns off the exits grow. The towns like Saluda that are missed by 20 and 26 stagnate
I26 is about 5 1/2 miles west of Cameron (exit 149). It's on 176 (Old State Road), that runs parallel to I26 on the Santee side.

I wouldn't say Cameron has grown, per se. It just hasn't died like others.
 
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As far as I know the peach farms are still thriving. I haven’t been through there in years but have some friends up that way. The Charlotte to beach traffic still helps them out
I go through McBee every week or two weeks on my way to relatives in NC. I am amazed at the economic activity in that little place with no interstate. In addition to McLeod Farms ( I stop at the little store going and coming in peach season), there's the AO Smith water heater plant(parking lot stayed full all during COVID), MarMac Wire, and a $40million Nestle(Deer Park) bottled water plant with 60 employees. Any town of fewer than a thousand residents would be ecstatic to have what they have.
 
D’town WEST In Greenville is a HOT spot down. Fortunately and Unfortunately.... housing in that area
is totally flipping. Investors are buying, tearing down and rebuilding throughout the Parker area.
5 years from now or thereabouts.... The original families or older folks will definitely not recognize
the area. Always had fun playing Parker in sports. Lots of buds went there. My son actually went there
while they remodeled Greenville High School.
( sorry for the babbling 😎)

Interesting. I haven't driven through that section in years, it will be interesting to see how things develop.
 
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I26 is about 5 1/2 miles west of Cameron (exit 149). It's on 176 (Old State Road), that runs parallel to I26 on the Santee side.

I wouldn't say Cameron has grown, per se. It just hasn't died like others.

Yeah, that's what is so interesting about Cameron to me. The interstate does NOT pass by it but like you said, it hasn't died like so many other small towns.
 
I grew up in Olar, a very, very small town on Highway 321 not far from Allendale. The opening of I-95 did not impact very much because Highway 301 was the major route to Florida. All of my family is gone and have no reason to go back. It is depressing to see what has happened to the area. Thought it was a great little place to grow up because I did not know any difference. I never thought about moving back to that area after I finished Carolina undergrad and then law school.
 
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I grew up in Allendale SC- built up in the 60/70s around HWY 301 &321… When the Interstates cut through it KILLED Allendale because there was suddenly no traffic coming through. That place is a third world country today. We moved there in like 79 when I was a baby and I watched the town literally crumble around us growing up… Allendale and Barnwell used to be real good football teams- for 2A- I haven’t kept up that much with 2A HS any more, but they have virtually no jobs or population growth there! My parents moved away years ago so I literally have no reason to visit and I DON’T.
My first job, upon graduating from Carolina, was providing consulting services, including to Allendale County government in 1977. As early as then, before you moved to there as a baby, it was obvious to me that the interstate killed Allendale. If memory serves, the late Governor Robert McNair came from Allendale.
 
Seems like Winnsboro has never been able to get any traction to progress
They've got a lot of conflicting ideas with people between Winnsboro and Fairfield County. Lots of old blood that refuses to give in to the progress that you're seeing in Blythewood and Chester. The big patch of trees you see between those two areas is Fairfield. So much potential. They've shot themselves in the foot numerous times, and that's not counting losing multiple industries such as the Mack truck plant. Then throw in the nuclear plant fiasco, and they've been all but doomed. It's a huge area as well.
 
I dont know if it had anything to do with it but I do know the name change pissed off the Citadel quite a bit... and did for decades.

If it had been done in modern day, one would figure that Furman found something politically incorrect about the name Hurricanes.
 
... and if they had to change it now, Paladins wouldnt be an option.

And I am sure that another nickname change is probably being discussed as they are afraid the name Paladins might offend some lightweight somewhere. Of course at the rate they are going, Furman may totally ditch sports altogether outside of basketball before it is over.
 
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The story of Ellenton, New Ellenton, and the Savannah River Site is beyond belief.
The government buys a whole town for nuclear site, moves the whole town.

Pat Conroy included the story in The Prince Of Tides. Several critics called this element of the story, “typical Southern Fantastical Exaggeration and Hogwash!”
Conroy’s response was something like, “You Goddamn Yankee idiot snobs, look it up!!! It’s Ellenton and New Ellenton!”
My family is from Ellenton. Only 2 are still alive, but oh the stories they tell about those very sad times. My Dad could talk about it for hours.
 
St. Johns High of Darlington and McCleneghan High of Florence. Darlington went for six years in the late 50s and early 60s with only 3 losses, all to McCleneghan High.
I remember McCleneghan’s last year, 1975. We played the 3A state tennis tournament at Francis Marion and they were the Host school.
 
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The dearth of textiles has never been redeemed by anything else in most such towns. Lancaster and Chester are pitiful. Lancaster County is booming in the Indian Land area but the city has deteriorated tragically.
Check out this sad video of Springs Park.

 
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I knew a man that helped move homes and stores from Ellington to their new home in New Ellington.
God, I know I’m being that guy, so apologies in advance. EVERYBODY in SC pronounces it Ellington but it is Ellenton. I actually googled it before posting because I have always pronounced it Ellington just like my father from Williston taught me.
 
I grew up in Olar, a very, very small town on Highway 321 not far from Allendale. The opening of I-95 did not impact very much because Highway 301 was the major route to Florida. All of my family is gone and have no reason to go back. It is depressing to see what has happened to the area. Thought it was a great little place to grow up because I did not know any difference. I never thought about moving back to that area after I finished Carolina undergrad and then law school.
My father grew up in Olar.
 
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