Summerton is a town in

Clarendon County, South Carolina Clarendon County is a county located below the fall line in the Coastal Plain region of U.S. state of South Carolina. As of 2020 census, its population was 31,144. Its county seat is Manning. This area was developed for lumber and mills, inc ...

, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 814.

Geography

Summerton is in southwestern Clarendon County at (33.605145, -80.352159). Interstate 95 passes just south of the town, with access from Exit 108. I-95 leads northeast to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and southwest to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is 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 t ...

. U.S. Routes 15 and

301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 ( CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less frequently, year 1054 ...

join in the center of Summerton. US 301 leads northeast to

Manning Manning (a.k.a. Mannion, Manning) is a family name. Origin and meaning Manning is from an old Norse word — manningi — meaning a brave or valiant man; and one of the first forms of the name was Mannin; another cartography was Mannyg ...

, the Clarendon County seat, and US 15 leads north to

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

, while the combined highways lead southwest to Santee. Summerton is located in the heart of

Santee Cooper Country Santee Cooper Country is a tourism district in the south central area of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It surrounds the Santee Cooper Lakes, Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, which were formed from damming the Santee River and the Cooper River. ...

, from the shores of Lake Marion. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, Summerton has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 Census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 1,061 people, 452 households, and 285 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 919.3 people per square mile (356.2/km²). There were 516 housing units at an average density of 447.1 per square mile (173.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 39.77%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 57.21%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.75%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.41% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.66% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.07% of the population. There were 452 households, out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 24.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% 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 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 73.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,563, and the median income for a family was $34,038. Males had a median income of $34,500 versus $18,906 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $13,284. About 18.4% of families and 25.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 24.4% of those age 65 or over.

History

Summerton's history began ''circa'' 1830 to 1840.

Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

owners made their move inward to Summerton to escape from the mosquitos along the

Santee River } The Santee River is a river in South Carolina in the United States, and is long. The Santee and its tributaries provide the principal drainage for the coastal areas of southeastern South Carolina and navigation for the central coastal plain of ...

. It was thought of as a health resort and safe retreat from the "malaria" associated with the swamp. The town was officially chartered by the South Carolina legislative delegation on Christmas Eve, 1889. Summerton is well known for the court case ''

Briggs v. Elliott ''Briggs v. Elliott'', 342 U.S. 350 (1952), on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina, challenged school segregation in Summerton, South Carolina. It was the first of the five cases combined into ''Brown v. ...

'' (Court citation:347 US 483). ''Briggs'' was the first filed of the four court cases combined into ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'', the famous case in which the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 officially overturned

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

in U.S. public schools. Summerton High School and Scott’s Branch High School were added to

Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park ''Brown v. Board of Education'' National Historical Park was established in Topeka, Kansas, on October 26, 1992, by the United States Congress to commemorate the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case ''Brown v. Board of Educat ...

in 2022. Despite the outcome of ''Briggs'' and ''Brown'', as of 2004 Summerton's schools remain effectively segregated, with nearly all white students now attending the private Clarendon Hall, leaving the public schools almost entirely African-American. As of 2004, 95% of public high school students at Scotts Branch High are black, despite 40% white population in the community. Today, Summerton is still noted for being a summer retreat and vacation spot for visitors interested in nature and outdoor recreation activities, e.g. golf, fishing, hunting, boating, camping.http://SummertonHistory.COSITech.Net

References

External links

''Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America,'' a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan

''Historic Summerton, SC''
{{authority control Towns in Clarendon County, South Carolina Towns in South Carolina