| Hartsville, South Carolina | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | "A small town with a big heart"[1] |
| Image Blank Emblem: | City of Hartsville, SC Logo.png |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | South Carolina |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Darlington |
| Government Type: | Council-manager |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Casey Hancock |
| Established Title: | Town of Hartsville |
| Established Date: | December 11, 1891 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 15.51 |
| Area Land Km2: | 15.49 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.03 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 5.99 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 5.98 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.01 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 7446 |
| Population Density Km2: | 480.71 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1244.94 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 66 |
| Elevation Ft: | 217 |
| Coordinates: | 34.3694°N -80.0808°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 29550, 29551 |
| Area Code: | 843, 854 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 45-32560[3] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1231367[4] |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Logo |
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.[5] 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.
Hartsville is home of Coker University and a branch of Florence–Darlington Technical College. It is also the home of the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, a public boarding high school.
The city is served by the Hartsville Regional Airport.
Hartsville is home to several major corporations including Sonoco Products Company, Duke Energy's H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station, Novolex, and Stingray Boats.
The area surrounding Hartsville was once home to several Native American tribes, including the Pee Dee, Catawba, Chicora, Edisto, Sane, and Chicora-Waccamaw, who inhabited the region until European settlers arrived.
Hartsville's first settlement began around 1760. The town is named for Captain Thomas E. Hart, who eventually owned most of the land in the community. Hart started a successful mercantile business, but lost his business and his land during the economic depression of 1837–1838.
In 1845, Thomas Hart's son, John Lide Hart, purchased of land in what is now downtown Hartsville from Colonel Law. John Hart went on to establish a carriage factory, steam-powered saw mill, grist mill, general store, and Hartsville Baptist Church. Caleb Coker purchased the carriage factory for his son James Lide Coker in 1855.
James Lide Coker came to Hartsville in 1857 with plans to implement new farming methods he had learned at Harvard College. This was interrupted by the start of the Civil War, in which he became a major for the Confederacy. He returned to Hartsville injured and found that his plantation was in shambles. He planned to reconstruct his plantation and bring prosperity to the town of Hartsville. Major Coker established Welsh Neck High School, which later became Coker University. He also established a seed company, oil mill, fertilizer plant, the Coker and Company General Store, a bank, and the Southern Novelty Company, now known as Sonoco Products Company. Even with his own successes in business, Coker and his family were unable to convince other business owners in the area to build a railroad spur, so they decided to build their own, which became the Hartsville Railroad, completed in 1889.
The Town of Hartsville received its first charter on December 11, 1891, during a period of bustling economic activity and growth.[6]
The railroad eventually became part of the South Carolina Central Railroad, and the Southern Novelty Company and Carolina Fiber Company merged to form Sonoco Products Company. Sonoco eventually expanded to a global scale and became a Fortune 500 company.
Hartsville's first Mayor was W.K. Bell, sworn in in 1892 just after the City was chartered. He served a partial term before being proceeded by Major James Lide Coker.
| Mayor | Party | Sworn in | Left office | Comments | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | W.K. Bell | 1892 | 1892 | |||
| 2 | James Lide Coker | 1892 | 1894 | Major Coker served in the Confederate Army in the American Civil War and was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1864 before moving to Hartsville.[7] January 3, 1837 - June 25, 1918. | ||
| 3 | J.S. White | 1895 | 1896 | |||
| 4 | J.E. Bass | 1896 | 1896 | |||
| 5 | C.J. Woodrow | 1897 | 1897 | |||
| 6 | J.S. White | 1898 | 1900 | |||
| 7 | D.R. Coker | 1900 | 1901 | |||
| 8 | M.S. McKinnon | 1902 | 1903 | |||
| 9 | H.A. Edwards | 1904 | 1906 | |||
| 9 | C.W. Coker | 1907 | 1908 | |||
| 10 | M.S. McKinnon | 1909 | 1910 | |||
| 11 | E.A. Miller | 1911 | 1916 | |||
| 12 | L.B. Stephenson | 1919 | 1920 | |||
| 13 | P.H. Rogers | 1921 | 1926 | |||
| 14 | W.D. Arthur | 1927 | 1930 | |||
| 15 | R.E. Sowell | 1931 | 1934 | |||
| 16 | C.H. Campbell | 1935 | 1938 | |||
| 17 | L.H. Stokes | 1939 | 1944 | |||
| 18 | G.J. Lawton | 1945 | 1946 | |||
| 19 | R.W. Shand | 1947 | 1948 | |||
| 20 | R.B. White | 1949 | 1954 | |||
| 21 | P. Wilmeth | 1955 | 1957 | |||
| 22 | T.L. Maxwell | 1957 | 1963 | |||
| 23 | O.D. Kelly | 1963 | 1965 | |||
| 24 | Robert King Bass | 1965 | 1973 | February 16, 1925 - May 2, 1999[8] | ||
| 25 | Dr. Glenn Johnston Lawhon, Jr. | 1973 | 1985 | July 3, 1925 - February 16, 2017.[9] | ||
| 26 | Louis Matthew "Matt" Cannarella | 1985 | 1993 | October 16, 1954 - November 8, 2016[10] | ||
| 27 | Flora "Flossie" C. Hopkins | 1994 | 2001 | Mayor Hopkins was Hartsville's first female Mayor.[11] April 12, 1939 - January 25th, 2021.[12] | ||
| 28 | William A. Gaskins | 2001 | 2005 | Councilman Gaskins defeated Councilman Franklin Hines in the general election to win the Mayor's seat. | ||
| 29 | Michael S. Holt | 2005 | 2009 | In August of 2009, Mayor Holt accepted an appointment as a judge and vacated his seat.[13] May 1, 1970 - July 28, 2024[14] | ||
| 30 | David L. McFarland | Aug. 2009 | Nov. 2009 | In August of 2009, Mayor Pro Tem McFarland became mayor for the remainder of Mayor Holt's term when Holt stepped down to accept an appointment as a judge. Mayor McFarland was Hartsville's first Black mayor.[15] | ||
| 31 | Carl "Mel" M. Pennington, IV | November 10, 2009[16] | Dec 14, 2021 | |||
| 32 | Casey G. Hancock | December 14, 2021 |
Locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
Locations recognized by the South Carolina Historical Markers Program[17] as administered by the State Historic Preservation Office:
Hartsville is located in northwestern Darlington County at 34.3694°N -80.0808°W (34.369474, −80.080783).[18] U.S. Route 15 bypasses the city to the southeast; it leads northeast to Society Hill and to Laurinburg, North Carolina, and southwest to Sumter. South Carolina Highway 151 bypasses the city to the southwest; it leads southeast to Darlington, the county seat, and northwest to McBee. Columbia, the state capital, is to the southwest.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Hartsville has a total area of 16km2, of which 14.8km2 is land and 1.1km2, or 7.11%, is water.[5] Prestwood Lake, an impoundment on Black Creek, is on the northern border of the city. Black Creek is part of the Pee Dee River watershed.
Hartsville enjoys a mild climate year-round. It experiences 213 sunny days on average. The number of days with measurable precipitation is 106, and the city receives about of rainfall per year. The average low is in January, and the average high is in July. During the winter months, Hartsville can receive snowfall.[19]
| White | 3,766 | 50.58% | |
| Black or African American | 3,149 | 42.29% | |
| Native American | 9 | 0.12% | |
| Asian | 91 | 1.22% | |
| Other/Mixed | 241 | 3.24% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 190 | 2.55% |
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 7,446 people, 2,934 households, and 1,860 families residing in the city.[21] The population density was 1257.77 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 50.58% White, 42.29% African American, 0.12% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 2.55% Hispanic or Latino, and 3.24% two or more races.
There were 2,934 households, of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.8% were married couples living together, 44.7% had a female householder with no spouse present, 16.2% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 5.3% were non-families. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 13.5% from 18 to 24, 12.2% from 25 to 34, 9.2% from 35 to 44, 12.8% from 45 to 54, 11.7% from 55 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.7 years. The population is made up of 45.7% males and 54.3% females.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,487 with the median income for a family at $45,556, a married-couple family at $87,159, and non-family households at $24,200. The per capita income for the city was $23,469. 28.8% of the population was below the poverty line, including 52.0% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.
Major employers in the area include Sonoco Products Company, Nucor Corporation, Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center, Novolex, Stingray Boats, North Industrial Machine, and Duke Energy's H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station.
At 4.3%, the unemployment rate is slightly higher than the national average of 3.9%. Job growth over the next decade is expected to be approximately 27.4% which is significantly lower than the US average of 33.5%. The household median income is $29,276/year which is significantly lower than the national median income of $53,482/year.[22]
There are many festivals, parades, and other events that residents of Hartsville look forward to each year.
Hartsville has several parks within the city.
Hartsville has a council–manager government. The city council, Hartsville's legislative body, is made of a mayor who is elected at large, and six council members who are elected in single-member districts, with one member elected by his/her peers as Mayor Pro-Tem. Regular meetings take place on the second Tuesday of the month.[34] City Hall is located at 100 E Carolina Avenue in a building previously occupied by the Bank of America. The new city hall opened in mid-2013. It has been praised by the citizens of Hartsville as a significant upgrade for the downtown area.
The Main Street Hartsville program is a partnership of the City of Hartsville, the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville, and Main Street South Carolina, a program of the National Main Street Center. The organization seeks to build a vibrant downtown in Hartsville, focusing on thriving businesses, entertainment, recreating and historic preservation. It follows the Main Street "Four Point Approach" of organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring.[35] Main Street Hartsville administers a Sign and Paint grant for local businesses. It also oversees the Hartsville Farmers Market, Start-Up Hartsville, and Hartsville for the Holidays. They periodically hold contests for local businesses.
The public schools in Hartsville are governed by the Darlington County School District. For the 2019–2020 school year, the district approved a fiscal budget of $95,383,423.13.[36] The district-wide student-to-teacher ratio is about 16:1[37] and the district spends about $14,178 per student.[38]
Coker University, a private, baccalaureate-granting institution, is located in Hartsville. It offers a four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts, as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom.
Florence–Darlington Technical College, based in nearby Florence, South Carolina, maintains a satellite campus in Hartsville.
Hartsville has a public library, a branch of the Darlington County Library System.[41]
Hartsville is served by several local, regional, and state media outlets. The Hartsville Messenger, an affiliate of SCNow, is the local newspaper, with The State serving as a source for statewide news. WBTW News 13, WPDE-TV News 15, and WFXB Fox TV are the news channels that serve the Hartsville area as well as the entire Pee Dee and Grand Strand regions.
Downtown Hartsville and most neighborhoods in Hartsville are designed around a standard grid layout whose use began when the city first developed. However, in newly developed sections of the city, such as around Hartsville Crossing, the road layout is less orthodox.
Hartsville is located north of Interstate 20 and northwest of Interstate 95.
The City of Hartsville maintains garbage and recycling services for residents within the city limits, as well as water services. Electric services are provided by Duke Energy and Pee Dee Electric Cooperative. Dish Network, DirecTV, AT&T, and Spectrum serve television and internet needs.
Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center is a large medical complex located on the edge of Hartsville. The hospital has 116 beds available for patients, not including those located in the hospital's Level III capable trauma/ER unit.