Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Hartsville has also been a National Arbor Day Foundation Tree City since 1986.
Coker University is a private university in Hartsville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1908 and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Coker's sports teams, nicknamed the Cobras, compete in NCAA Division II.
Major James Lide Coker was a businessman, merchant, industrialist, philanthropist, and Civil War veteran, and the founder of Sonoco Products Company and Coker College. He was affectionately known by all as "The Major" after his service in the Confederate Army.
Coker Experimental Farms, also known as Coker Pedigreed Seed Company, is a National Historic Landmark agricultural site at 1257 South Fourth Street in Hartsville, South Carolina, USA. Now a museum property, the property was where David R. Coker performed critical breeding experiments to improve strains of cotton and other crops grown throughout the American South. Coker was a major force in the development of agricultural extension services in the South in the early decades of the 20th century. What remains of his farm was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
Darlington Industrial Historic District is a national historic district located at Darlington, Darlington County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 12 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure in an industrial section of Darlington. They were built between about 1890 and 1925. All of these buildings are located along the rights-of-way of the South Carolina Western Railway and the Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad since the industries each of these buildings served employed the services of the railroad. Among the prominent resources in the district are the Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railway Freight Station (1891), the Darlington Roller Mill (1899), Thomas and Howard Tobacco Warehouse ; and Price's Tobacco Warehouse, and a cotton warehouse.
East Home Avenue Historic District is a national historic district located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 52 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site in a primarily residential section of Hartsville. They were constructed between about 1890 to about 1938, and is associated with the leading figures of the town's history. Home Avenue has historically been the major residential street in Hartsville since it was laid out and landscaped in 1890. Architectural styles and influences include Renaissance Revival, Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, American Craftsman, and Bungalow. Notable non-residential buildings include the First Baptist Church, Thornwell Elementary School, and Hartsville Public School. Located in the district is the separately listed John L. Hart House.
Lawton Park and Pavilion is a historic public park and national historic district located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. The district encompasses two contributing buildings built 1939-1941 by the Works Progress Administration, and planned as early as 1938. The park is a wooded, 3.5 acre, public recreation area including a swimming area, playground, picnic area, and tennis courts. The park includes three buildings: a Colonial Revival style pavilion, shed and keeper's house.
James L. Coker III House is a historic home located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1931, and is a two-story, three bay, brick Colonial Revival style residence. It has two-story, lateral gable wings flanked by one-story end gable wings, and a one-story sunroom. It features an engaged portico with four slender Tuscan order columns. It was the home of James Lide Coker, III (1904-1961), prominent Hartsville manufacturer and president of Sonoco Products Company. Also on the property is a one-story, frame, double-pen "cabin".
Robert R. Coker House is a historic home located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1938, and is a two-story, five-bay, brick Colonial Revival style residence. About 1942, a two-story wing was added to the west elevation and a one-story wing was added to the east elevation. It features an engaged two-story portico supported by six slender square columns. It was the home of Robert R. Coker (1905-1987), prominent Hartsville agriculturalist and businessman who served as president of J.L. Coker and Company and the Coker Pedigreed Seed Company.
S. Pressly Coker House is a historic home located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1917, it is a blending of elements of both the Shingle Style and Colonial Revival styles, with the form and massing of the bungalow. It is a two-story, three bay, rectangular, shingle-clad residence. It features an engaged one-story portico which extends and wraps to form a porte-cochère. It was the home of S. Pressly Coker (1887-1953), prominent Hartsville agriculturalist and businessman who was a plant breeder with the Coker Pedigreed Seed Company and later founder and president of the Humphrey-Coker Seed Company and the Hygeia Dairy.
J. B. Gilbert House is a historic home located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1929, and is a two-story, brick Tudor Revival style residence. It has a cross gable slate roof, limestone trim, decorative ironwork, half timbering, and herringbone brickwork in the gables. It was the home of John Barton Gilbert (1891-1953), a prominent Hartsville manufacturer and businessman. Gilbert served Sonoco first as a salesman, then an accountant, and finally as corporate treasurer.
Wade Hampton Hicks House is a historic home located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1901, and expanded with a second story in 1919. It is a two-story, three bay, rectangular American Craftsman inspired residence, set upon a brick foundation. It has a hipped roof with wide overhangs and exposed rafter tails and a one-story hipped roof wraparound porch. Also on the property is a small wooden carriage house/smokehouse, constructed about 1901. It was the home of Wade Hampton Hicks (1874-1945), prominent Hartsville farmer and businessman who founded W.H. Hicks and Son Feed and Seed Company.
A. M. McNair House is a historic home located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1902, and is a two-story, three-bay, Late Victorian style frame residence on a brick foundation. It has an asymmetrical plan and a pyramidal roof with cross gables. It features a one-story, hip roof wraparound porch and a two-story gabled bay extension where the wraparound porch terminates. It was the home of A.M. McNair (1857-1929), prominent Hartsville businessman who served as co-owner of McKinnon and McNair Department Store, founder and president of the Pee Dee Furniture Company, and vice president of the Bank of Hartsville.
South Carolina Western Railway Station, also known as the Seaboard Airline Railway Station, is a historic train station located at Darlington, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1911 by the South Carolina Western Railway and is a rectangular brick building with projecting rectangular bays at the center of two sides. The hipped roof features a bell-cast profile, red clay tile, wide bracketed eaves, and intersecting gables. Each gable contains a Palladian window. Lawrence Reese, an African-American master carpenter who had constructed many houses in Darlington, built the station.
Hartsville station, also known as the Hartsville Depot, is a historic train station located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1908 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and is a one-story structure typical of early 20th century railroad design. It has a hipped slate roof with a deep overhang supported by large wooden brackets. The Atlantic Coast Line discontinued this line to Hartsville in 1940, and in 1948 the station became the office for the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company.
Hartsville Armory is a historic National Guard armory located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina.
Hartsville Post Office, also known as the Hartsville Memorial Library and Hartsville Museum, is a historic post office building located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1930, and designed under the supervision of James A. Wetmore, Office of the Supervising Architect, United States Department of the Treasury. It is a one-story, five bay, brick Colonial Revival style building. It has a rectangular plan and flat roof with parapet. The symmetrical façade features large arched window openings with decorative keystones. This building served as Hartsville's post office until 1963, when a new post office was built.
Hartsville Community Center-Hartsville Community Market is a historic community center and public market complex located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1935-1936 utilizing federal loans from the Public Works Administration. The Hartsville Community Center is a two-story, five-bay, rectangular plan Art Deco style brick building with a flat roof, parapet, and decorative cast-stone trim.
J.L. Coker Company Building is a historic commercial building located at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was designed by Charles Coker Wilson and built in 1909–1910. It is a one-story, 11-bay, brick building with a brick warehouse addition. The building covers an area of approximately one acre. The façade consists of an arcade whose segmental arches enclose the display bays and entrances. It was built for the company founded by Major James Lide Coker. It is currently the home of the Hartsville YMCA.
Davidson Hall, Coker University, also known as the Administration Building, is a historic educational building located on the campus of Coker University at Hartsville, Darlington County, South Carolina. It was built in 1909–1910, and is a two-story, 15-bay, rectangular brick building with Neo-Classical details. It has a hip roof and a projecting semicircular auditorium on the rear elevation. The front façade features a projecting, two-story, pedimented portico, supported by six stuccoed Ionic order columns. It was built with funds donated by the college's founder, Major James Lide Coker, and was the first building constructed for Coker University.
