Aiken | |
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![]() Aiken County Courthouse | |
Nickname: The City of Trees | |
Coordinates: 33°32′58″N81°43′14″W / 33.54944°N 81.72056°W | |
Country | United States |
State | South Carolina |
County | Aiken |
Incorporated | 1835 |
Named for | William Aiken |
Government | |
• Type | Council–manager |
• Mayor | Teddy Milner [3] |
• City Manager | Stuart Bedenbaugh [4] |
Area | |
• Total | 21.58 sq mi (55.90 km2) |
• Land | 21.45 sq mi (55.56 km2) |
• Water | 0.13 sq mi (0.34 km2) 0.60% |
Elevation | 515 ft (157 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 32,025 |
• Estimate (2023) | 32,947 |
• Density | 1,492.94/sq mi (576.42/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
ZIP Codes | 29801-29805, 29808 |
Area codes | 803, 839 |
FIPS code | 45-00550 [8] |
GNIS feature ID | 1244853 [6] |
Website | www |
Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. [9] [10] According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025, [11] making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area.
Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the South Carolina Railroad. It became part of Aiken County when the county was formed in 1871. In the late 19th century, Aiken gained fame as a wintering spot for wealthy people from the Northeast. Thomas Hitchcock, Sr. and William C. Whitney established the Aiken Winter Colony. Over the years Aiken became a winter home for many notable people, including George H. Bostwick, James B. Eustis, Madeleine Astor, William Kissam Vanderbilt, Eugene Grace, president of Bethlehem Steel, Allan Pinkerton, and W. Averell Harriman.
Aiken is home to the University of South Carolina Aiken.
The municipality of Aiken was incorporated on December 19, 1835. The community formed around the terminus of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, a rail line from Charleston to the Savannah River, and was named for William Aiken, the railroad's first president.
During Sherman's March to the Sea in the American Civil War Sherman ordered Hugh Judson Kilpatrick and the cavalry corps he commanded to march through South Carolina. By February 5, they had reached Aiken County. While in Aiken County Kilpatrick fought Joseph Wheeler and his cavalry corps. This battle, called the Battle of Aiken, was a Confederate victory. [12] [13] [14]
Originally it was in the Edgefield District. With population increases, in 1871 Aiken County was organized, made up of parts of neighboring counties. Among its founding commissioners were three African-American legislators: Prince Rivers; Samuel J. Lee, speaker of the state House and the first black man admitted to the South Carolina Bar; and Charles D. Hayne, a free man of color from one of Charleston's elite families. [15]
Aiken was a planned town, and many of the streets in the historic district are named for other cities and counties in South Carolina, including Abbeville, Barnwell, Beaufort, Chesterfield, Colleton, Columbia, Dillon, Edgefield, Edisto, Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Orangeburg, Pendleton, Pickens, Richland, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg and York.
Between 1890 and the 1920s, many Jewish immigrants settled in Aiken. The Jewish immigrants were from Eastern Europe, including Russia and Poland. Many were from Knyszyn, Poland. In 1905, a group of Russian-Jewish socialists from New York founded a farming colony in Aiken County that was known as "Happyville". Adath (Adas) Yeshurun (Congregation of Israel) Synagogue was chartered in Aiken in 1921 and the cornerstone was laid in 1925. An historical marker was added to the synagogue in 2014, sponsored by the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. [16] [17] [18] [19] In 1903, the Jewish-American peddler Abraham Surasky was the victim of an antisemitic murder that occurred near Aiken. [20]
Aiken was the subject of a series of broadcasts by Orson Welles in July and August 1946 regarding the blinding and severe beating of Sergeant Isaac Woodard, a black World War II veteran.
The United States Atomic Energy Commission's selection of a site near Aiken for a plant to produce fuel for thermonuclear weapons was announced on November 30, 1950. Residences and businesses at Ellenton, South Carolina, were bought for use for the plant site. Residents were moved to New Ellenton, which was constructed about eight miles north, or to neighboring towns.
The site was named the Savannah River Plant, and renamed the Savannah River Site in 1989. The facility contains five production reactors, fuel fabrication facilities, a research laboratory, heavy water production facilities, two fuel reprocessing facilities, and tritium recovery facilities.
Aiken is near the center of Aiken County. It is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Augusta, Georgia, along U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 78. Interstate 20 passes 6 miles (10 km) to the north of the city, with access via South Carolina Highway 19 (exit 18) and US 1 (exit 22).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.58 square miles (55.9 km2), of which 21.45 square miles (55.6 km2) is land and 0.13 square miles (0.34 km2) (0.60%) is water. [5]
Aiken has a humid subtropical climate characterized by hot, humid summers and cool, dry winters, but experiences milder temperatures throughout the year than the rest of the state. Precipitation is distributed relatively uniformly throughout the year, with mostly rain in the milder months and occasional snow in the winter. The coldest recorded temperature was −4 °F or −20 °C on January 21, 1985, and the hottest 109 °F or 42.8 °C on August 21, 1983.
Climate data for Aiken 5 SE, South Carolina (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1893–present [lower-alpha 1] ) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 82 (28) | 88 (31) | 93 (34) | 99 (37) | 106 (41) | 108 (42) | 108 (42) | 109 (43) | 106 (41) | 99 (37) | 88 (31) | 85 (29) | 109 (43) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 57.6 (14.2) | 62.0 (16.7) | 68.4 (20.2) | 77.3 (25.2) | 85.5 (29.7) | 90.2 (32.3) | 93.4 (34.1) | 91.6 (33.1) | 86.4 (30.2) | 77.7 (25.4) | 66.8 (19.3) | 59.8 (15.4) | 76.4 (24.7) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 44.8 (7.1) | 49.0 (9.4) | 54.7 (12.6) | 62.9 (17.2) | 72.0 (22.2) | 78.6 (25.9) | 81.9 (27.7) | 80.4 (26.9) | 75.3 (24.1) | 64.9 (18.3) | 54.2 (12.3) | 48.1 (8.9) | 63.9 (17.7) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 32.0 (0.0) | 35.9 (2.2) | 41.0 (5.0) | 48.5 (9.2) | 58.5 (14.7) | 67.0 (19.4) | 70.4 (21.3) | 69.1 (20.6) | 64.2 (17.9) | 52.1 (11.2) | 41.5 (5.3) | 36.4 (2.4) | 51.4 (10.8) |
Record low °F (°C) | −4 (−20) | 6 (−14) | 13 (−11) | 21 (−6) | 34 (1) | 42 (6) | 51 (11) | 52 (11) | 37 (3) | 25 (−4) | 11 (−12) | 4 (−16) | −4 (−20) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 4.74 (120) | 4.20 (107) | 4.86 (123) | 3.11 (79) | 3.83 (97) | 5.46 (139) | 5.10 (130) | 5.25 (133) | 3.80 (97) | 3.38 (86) | 3.64 (92) | 3.78 (96) | 51.15 (1,299) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.5 (1.3) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.2 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 8.6 | 98.8 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
Source: NOAA [22] [23] [24] |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1880 | 1,817 | — | |
1890 | 2,362 | 30.0% | |
1900 | 3,414 | 44.5% | |
1910 | 3,911 | 14.6% | |
1920 | 4,103 | 4.9% | |
1930 | 6,033 | 47.0% | |
1940 | 6,168 | 2.2% | |
1950 | 7,083 | 14.8% | |
1960 | 11,243 | 58.7% | |
1970 | 13,436 | 19.5% | |
1980 | 14,978 | 11.5% | |
1990 | 19,872 | 32.7% | |
2000 | 25,337 | 27.5% | |
2010 | 29,566 | 16.7% | |
2020 | 32,025 | 8.3% | |
2023 (est.) | 32,947 | [11] | 2.9% |
U.S. Decennial Census [25] 2020 [11] [7] |
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White (non-Hispanic) | 19,757 | 61.69% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 9,076 | 28.34% |
Native American | 51 | 0.16% |
Asian | 640 | 2.0% |
Pacific Islander | 13 | 0.04% |
Other/Mixed | 1,271 | 3.97% |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,217 | 3.8% |
As of the 2020 census, there were 32,025 people, 12,923 households, and 8,479 families residing in the city.
At the 2010 census, [8] there were 29,524 people and 12,773 households with a population density was 1,416.3 inhabitants per square mile (546.8/km2). There were 14,162 housing units at an average density of 703.1 per square mile (271.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 66.8% White, 28.5% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.6% of the population.
There were 10,287 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,100, and the median income for a family was $63,520. Males had a median income of $51,988 versus $28,009 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,129. About 10.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Aiken is governed via a Council–manager system. A mayor is elected at large. The city council consists of six members. All six members are elected from single-member districts. [3]
Aiken has had four previous mayors as of November 7, 2023, when Teddy Milner become the fifth mayor of Aiken. [27] The previous mayors include:
Aiken has a public library, a branch of the ABBE Regional Library System. [36]
The Aiken Steeplechase Association, [37] founded in 1930, hosts the Imperial Cup each March and the Holiday Cup in October, both races sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association. This event draws more than 30,000 spectators.
The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous flat racing and steeplechase thoroughbred horses trained at the Aiken Training Track. [38]
Aiken hosts many polo matches at its numerous polo fields. Other local events include:
In the late 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, Aiken served as a winter residence for many of the country's wealthiest families, such as the Vanderbilts, Bostwicks, and the Whitneys.
Savannah is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War, Savannah is today an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. It is Georgia's fifth most populous city, with a 2020 U.S. census population of 147,780. The Savannah metropolitan area, Georgia's third-largest, had a 2020 population of 404,798.
Edgefield County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,657. Its county seat and largest community is Edgefield. The county was established on March 12, 1785.
Barnwell County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,589. It is located in the Central Savannah River Area. Its county seat is Barnwell.
Aiken County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168,808. Its county seat and largest community is Aiken. Aiken County is a part of the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is mostly in the Sandhills region, with the northern parts reaching in the Piedmont and southern parts reaching into the Coastal Plain.
Dillon is a city in Dillon County in eastern South Carolina, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Dillon County. It was established on December 22, 1888. Both the name of the city and county comes from James W. Dillon, an early settler and key figure in bringing a railroad through the area. The population was 6,788 in the 2010 U.S. census.
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina. The population in the 2020 United States Census was 22,545 down from 23,222 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Lander University.
Conway is a city and the county seat of Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 24,849 at the 2020 census, up from 17,103 in the 2010 census, making it the 18th-most populous city in the state. The city is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. It is the home of Coastal Carolina University.
Camden is the largest city and county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina. The population was 7,764 in the 2020 census, and the 2022 population estimate is 8,213. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Camden is the oldest inland city in South Carolina, and home to the Carolina Cup and the National Steeplechase Museum.
North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. It lies directly across the river, and state border, from Augusta, Georgia. The population was 24,379 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-most populous city in South Carolina. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) and is part of the Augusta, Georgia, metropolitan area.
Augusta is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgia's third most populous city, Augusta is located in the Fall Line section of the state.
Thomas Hitchcock was one of the leading American polo players during the latter part of the 19th century and a Hall of Fame horse trainer and owner known as the father of American steeplechase horse racing.
Lillian Stokes Bostwick Phipps was an American socialite and owner of Thoroughbred steeplechase racehorses.
George Herbert "Pete" Bostwick was an American court tennis player, a steeplechase jockey and horse trainer, and an eight-goal polo player.
Ellenton is a former community that was located on the border between Barnwell and Aiken counties, South Carolina, United States. Ellenton was settled c. 1870.
Edith Hope Goddard Iselin was an American heiress and sportswoman who was the first American woman to compete as a crew member in the America's Cup yacht race. She also owned thoroughbred racehorses.
The Augusta metropolitan area, officially the Augusta-Richmond County metropolitan statistical area according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Census Bureau and other agencies, is a metropolitan statistical area centered on the city of Augusta, Georgia. It straddles two U.S. states, Georgia and South Carolina, and includes the Georgia counties of Richmond, Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, and McDuffie as well as the South Carolina counties of Aiken and Edgefield. The official 2023 U.S. census estimate for the area was 629,429 residents, up from 611,000 at the 2020 U.S. census.
Francis Skiddy von Stade was a champion polo player and the president of the Saratoga Association from 1943 to 1955.
Horse Creek Valley is a geographic area along Horse Creek, a tributary of the Savannah River. It lies within present-day Aiken County, South Carolina. The area is alternately referred to as "Midland Valley". Rising near Vaucluse, South Carolina, Horse Creek enters the Savannah two miles downstream of downtown Augusta, Georgia. Other communities along Horse Creek include Graniteville, Warrenville, Gloverville, Langley, Burnettown, Bath, and Clearwater. While Horse Creek itself is rather insignificant, its potential for water power led to early examples of Southern industrialization, including a textile mill at Vaucluse (1830) and William Gregg's Graniteville Mill (1845). The textile industry continued to play a primary role until the Graniteville Train Derailment and final closure of the Graniteville Mill in 2006.
The Aiken Winter Colony was a winter resort in Aiken, South Carolina that existed in the 1800s as a health resort for coastal residents wishing to escape malaria and yellow fever.
The Aiken Polo Club is a polo club in Aiken, South Carolina.
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