Demographics
Location
KershawCounty
and the City of Camden,
the county seat, are in the central section of the state. Charleston, South
Carolina's
busiest port, is 124 miles south. Columbia
is 32 miles southwest and Greenville
is 133 miles northwest. Camden
is 246 miles east of Atlanta;
663 miles south of New
York, and
2,769 miles east of San
Francisco.
Population
(Estimated)
|
1997
|
|
|
|
Camden
|
7,200
|
|
|
|
|
KershawCounty
|
48,000
|
|
|
|
|
Elgin
|
6,935
|
|
|
|
|
Bethune
|
2,317
|
|
|
|
|
Lugoff
|
16,395
|
|
South
Carolina
|
3,760,181
|
|
KershawCounty
- 2000
|
|
Race*
|
|
Age**
|
|
White
|
71.60%
|
|
0-17
|
25.60%
|
|
African American
|
26.30%
|
|
18-24
|
7.70%
|
|
American Indian &
Alaskan Native
|
.30%
|
|
25-44 |
30.10%
|
|
Asian
|
.30%
|
|
45-64
|
24.50%
|
|
Native Hawaiian &
Other Pacific Islander
|
.00%
|
|
65 and over |
12.70%
|
|
Some Other Race
|
1%
|
|
|
|
|
Persons Reporting
Two or More Races
|
.80%
|
|
|
|
*
U.S.
Census Bureau, Census 2000
**
U.S.
Census Bureau, 1999
Climate
|
Averages
|
|
Temperature
|
|
Relative Humidity
|
|
Annual
|
61.6° F
|
|
1
a.m.
|
84%
|
|
January
|
43.5° F
|
|
7
a.m.
|
88%
|
|
July
|
79.7° F
|
|
1
p.m.
|
53%
|
|
|
|
|
7
p.m.
|
66%
|
The mean annual precipitation in the Camden
area is 47.1 inches and the average growing season is 219 days. The elevation
of Camden
is 170 feet above sea level.
Communication
The community's local newspaper is the
Chronicle-Independent, published tri-weekly with five other
dailies circulating in the community, including The State
newspaper. Three local radio stations, WAME-AM, WCAM-AM and
WPUB-FM transmit from the KershawCounty
area. KershawCounty
receives 7 local television stations, and cable television is available
throughout the county.
Government
The City of Camden
has a council-manager form of municipal government. The four city councilpersons
and mayor are elected at large for four-year terms. The municipalities
of Bethune and Elgin
have similar forms of government. KershawCounty
is governed locally by a county council comprised of seven members who
are elected from single member districts with the chairperson elected at
large. All members serve four-year terms.
Police and Fire
The Kershaw County Sheriff's Department
has 35 certified officers manning 40 patrol cars, covering 770 square miles
of territory. The Camden Police Department has 23 officers, 24 patrol cars,
covering 5.5 square miles. The Camden Fire Department has 25 full-time
firemen and 20 volunteers. Several rural fire stations are located throughout
the county comprising more than 50 additional full-time and volunteer firemen.
The City of Camden's
insurance rating is Class 4 and outside the city is Class 5.
Financial Institutions
The county has 8 banks and 2 credit unions
to serve the financial needs of the community. The banks have total assets
of more than 3.2 billion.
Hotels and Motels
Camden
and KershawCounty
has 11 motels, 1 county inn, and 5 bed and breakfasts, all with a total
of 454 rooms. Meeting and banquet facilities for large and small groups
are also available.
Churches
KershawCounty
has 95 Protestant churches, 1 Roman Catholic church
and 1 Jewish synagogue.
Education
The Kershaw County School System consists
of 11 elementary, 4 middle schools, 3 high schools, 600 teachers and 9,000
students. In addition, 3 private schools serve the area including CamdenMilitaryAcademy,
The Montessori School of Camden and ThomasSumterAcademy.
Institutions of higher learning include the Kershaw County Applied Technology
Education Campus located in KershawCounty.
Located in Columbia,
32 miles away, are MidlandsTechnicalCollege, ColumbiaBibleCollege,
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, AllenUniversity, BenedictCollege, ColumbiaCollege,
and the University
of South
Carolina. CentralCarolinaTechnicalCollege,
USC-Sumter and USC-Lancaster are also in close driving distance to KershawCounty.
Medical Services
Kershaw
County Medical Center (KCMC) encompasses a 121-bed acute care facility,
an 88 bed long-term care, a Home Health/Hospice Agency, and The Health
Resource Center located in Camden;
two primary healthcare offices, The Healthcare Place at Elgin
and The Healthcare Place at Bethune; and West Wateree
Medical Complex located in Lugoff. KCMC
also operates the countywide emergency medical services system. Nearby Columbiahas
four general hospitals, an army hospital, the StateMental
Hospital
and the VeteransAdministrationHospital.
The county has 66 medical doctors and 22 dentists.
Recreation and Civic Facilities
Camden
has a year-round recreation program and 178 acres of city parks. N.R.GoodaleState
Park,
two miles away, is a 2,300 acre park with two lakes, picnic and game facilities. WatereeLake
is a 22-mile navigable lake for water sports and fishing. Golf,
hunting, sporting clays, steeplechase horse racing and horseback riding
are available. Field trials for dogs and fox hunting are conducted
in the area. KershawCounty
has 24 parks, 24 tennis courts, 10 ball parks, 2 public golf courses, 1
private country club, 3 pools, 2 theaters, and 1 bowling alley. The University
of South
Carolina
and the Columbia Bombers Baseball Team provide spectator sports for the
area.
Utilities
Electric power is supplied locally by
the City of Camden
Municipal
system, Carolina Power & Light Company, Black River Electric Cooperative,
Fairfield Electric Cooperative, and Lynches River Electric Cooperative.
Natural gas is supplied by South Carolina Electric and Gas/SCANA and propane
gas through Carotane Propane Gas Company. Southern
Bell and Sandhills
Telephone Cooperative provide local telephone service and there are many
long distance carriers in the area.
Water and Sewer
Water and sewer services are currently
provided by the City of Camden
Municipal
system and the Lugoff-Elgin Water and
Sewer District. Other water suppliers include the Cassatt,
Charlotte Thompson and Bethune Water Districts. Currently the City of Camden
is placing a new, 6-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant on LakeWateree
into service. The City's sewer plant is capable of treating 2.4 million
gallons of wastewater per day and planning is under way to increase the
treatment capacity to 4 million gallons per day. The Lugoff-Elgin
daily water capacity is 4.1 million gallons per day and the sewer capacity
is 510,000 gallons per day.
Labor
The total civilian labor force within
a 30-mile radius of Camden
in 1991 was 217,524. Within a 15-mile radius, the labor force count is
36,675. The county unemployment rate in June 1994 was 9.4%. The South
Carolina
unemployment in June 1994 was 6.0%. In 1995, the median household income
for Camden
was $33,009 and $33,889 for Lugoff.
The median household income for KershawCounty
in 1995 was $36,500.
Transportation
Interstate 20 serves KershawCounty
with 4 interchanges. Within a short distance, I-20 connects with Interstate
95 at Florence
and Interstates 77 and 26 in Columbia.
In addition, there are 3 US
highways and 9 South
Carolina
highways. The community is served by the Seaboard System Railroad which
also provides access to Amtrak. KershawCounty
has 39 freight carriers and two trucking terminal facilities.
Private aircraft utilize the Camden-KershawCountyAirport
which has a maximum runway length of 5,000 feet. Charter service, tiedown,
ADF instrument approach, Unicom, 100LL fuel, jet fuel and aircraft repairs
are among the services offered. The ColumbiaMetropolitanAirport,
38 miles away, offers regularly scheduled commercial airline service on Delta, U.S.
Air, and American Airlines. In addition, CharlotteInternationalAirport
is conveniently located 72 miles north of KershawCounty
with service from all the major airlines.
Taxes
KershawCounty
has a state sales tax rate of 6%. The total millage
for KershawCounty
residents in 1994 was 217.45 mills: 56.08 for county, 6.90 for debt service,
3.47 for library, 123.0 for schools and 28.0 for a school bond. In addition,
there are two special purpose districts for fire department needs, each
amounting to a 15-mill assessment for residents of Lugoff
or the Mt.Pisgah-Buffalo
areas only. The total millage rate in
1994 for the Town of Bethune
was 62.0
Corporate or industrial location in KershawCounty
is rewarded through a five-year moratorium of general county taxes (which excepts
school taxes). The state of South
Carolina
offers jobs creation tax credit, a corporate headquarters tax credit, a
childcare program tax credit, and various sales tax exemptions to include
machinery, equipment, fuels and electricity. In addition, there are various
property tax incentives and fee-in-lieu of property taxes offered for various
investments and programs.
Major Employers
|
Kershaw County School
District
Invista formerly E.I. DuPontDeNemours
Kershaw County Medical Center
Standard Corporation
Wal-Mart Superstore
Dana Corporation
Kershaw County Administration
Clariant LSM (America, Inc.) formerly Archimica
Kendall - Wateree Plant
New South Industries
Williams Mechanical Corporation
Thermoid, Inc.
BBA NonWovens
Wateree Correctional Institute
Cogsdill Tool Products
DeRoyal Industries, Inc.
Mancor Carolina, Inc.
SPX Filtran
South Carolina Yutaka Technologies
Haier America Refrigeration
C. Ray Miles Construction, Inc
Howden Buffalo, Inc.
Jubilee Embroidery
Kaycee Manufacturing
Gold Crown Restaurant DBA Burger King
Oak-Mitsui
First Palmetto Savings Bank, Inc.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
Kord USA Inc.
Char-Mar Corporation/Camden McDonald's
Wateree Dyeing & Finishing Corporation
McDonald's/Lugoff
Wolfe Mechanical and Equipment
Praxair, Inc.
Whiting Metals, Inc.
Protective Packaging, Inc
Belk's
Kerwest
Chronicle-Independent
Lugoff Ind. Textile Products, Inc.
SEAS (Southeastern Electronic)
Short Run Bindery
Carolina Covers
Eisenback Equipment Sales, Inc.
Conner Industries
Davis Printing
The Bag Lady
Wateree Animal Hospital
Eisenback Machine Company, Inc.
Westvaco Corporation |
1,200
1,000
643
547
380
325
300
300
275
270
250
241
240
200
200
191
172
130
130
125
100
100
91
90
90
89
80
75
75
54
50
50
48
42
40
36
35
33
30
28
26
26
25
25
24
22
20
20
18
13
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