What is your favorite small town in SC

KingWard

Well-known member
Feb 15, 2022
5,508
5,947
113
When I was a kid it was Ridgeville... where my grandparents lived. For the most part downtown main street wasn't any longer than a football field. A grocery store, a furniture store, a bbq joint, a barber shop and a post office. And all of that was on one side of the road. That was pretty much it... everything you needed. Not sure what it looks like today. Haven't been there in at least 20 years.
You made me think of Ridgeville. I got off I-95 to ride on US 278 for awhile on a return trip from Florida. I thought it was a quaint little town. Now, if you really want to go small, there's also Ridgeway, in Fairfield County. It's another little gem. My family lived there for a couple of years when I was small.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blues man

TN-Gamecock

Joined May 10, 2002
Jan 29, 2022
1,147
981
113
Speaking of Pickens, Duncan, Travelers Rest, Greer....

I'm waiting for someone to chime in on Landrum/Inman. (Horse Country)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sparklecity

Rogue Cock

Joined Sep 11, 2000
Jan 22, 2022
5,994
7,999
113
Greer and Byrnes...best football rivalry back in the day...Byrnes hit a growth spurt and Bobby Bently put them on the map nationally.

Byrnes main rival in other sports especially basketball was JL Mann....

I wish Byrnes and Mann were still in the same conference since Mann finally caught up to 5A status.
Yep. Greer's other main rivals were Riverside (who no one could touch in baseball) and to a lesser extent Wade Hampton, but the Greer-Byrnes football games were classics and often determined the winner of the conference. I remember being told by my coach the safest place during one of those games was on the field....that you definitely didn't want to be in the stands.

Odd thing was that I lived on the Spartanburg County side of Greer (a Greenville County school). I was a couple of miles from the dividing line for Greer and Byrnes.
 
Last edited:
  • Love
Reactions: TN-Gamecock

Rogue Cock

Joined Sep 11, 2000
Jan 22, 2022
5,994
7,999
113
Speaking of Pickens, Duncan, Travelers Rest, Greer....

I'm waiting for someone to chime in on Landrum/Inman. (Horse Country)
Landrum is now very nice....good friend was the former mayor there. Inman is also very nice and has been for many years....but rather expensive.
 

KingWard

Well-known member
Feb 15, 2022
5,508
5,947
113
Born and raised in Beaufort. Still here. Doesn’t feel very small anymore.
My granddaughter lives there now and teaches kindergarten in a large elementary school nearby. I love Beaufort, but sprawl and traffic are happening.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Rogue Cock

Debo77

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2022
1,558
2,457
113
Greer and Byrnes...best football rivalry back in the day...Byrnes hit a growth spurt and Bobby Bently put them on the map nationally.

Byrnes main rival in other sports especially basketball was JL Mann....

I wish Byrnes and Mann were still in the same conference since Mann finally caught up to 5A status.
I would say Riverside might have been Byrnes' basketball rivalry....I remember one year , late 80's maybe 1990 , Byrnes played them at home (D.R Hill) and they locked the doors when the gym was full and word is there were another 2000 outside trying to get in...riots were about to break out....lucky for me I had a crush on one of the girls players so I got there early to watch them and had a good seat for the boys game....do they still play at D R Hill????
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogue Cock

BftCocks09

Joined Aug 2, 2014
Jan 24, 2022
803
1,419
93
My granddaughter lives there now and teaches kindergarten in a large elementary school nearby. I love Beaufort, but sprawl and traffic are happening.

Yes. What was mass migration of northerners coming to Hilton Head and Bluffton has now pivoted to my little hometown. Unfortunately, word of its charm has gotten out.

And that’s interesting that your granddaughter is a kindergarten teacher. I also work for our school district here in Beaufort.
 

Rogue Cock

Joined Sep 11, 2000
Jan 22, 2022
5,994
7,999
113
Yes. What was mass migration of northerners coming to Hilton Head and Bluffton has now pivoted to my little hometown. Unfortunately, word of its charm has gotten out.

And that’s interesting that your granddaughter is a kindergarten teacher. I also work for our school district here in Beaufort.
Are y'all losing a lot of teachers to the Savannah area schools as Bluffton and HHI are?
 

BftCocks09

Joined Aug 2, 2014
Jan 24, 2022
803
1,419
93
Are y'all losing a lot of teachers to the Savannah area schools as Bluffton and HHI are?

Well I deal with all of the middle and high schools in Beaufort county (Bluffton and Hilton Head schools are part of the Beaufort County school system). Like many districts we always have heavy teacher turnover in my department. I pretty much stay in my lane and don’t know for sure about other areas, but I don’t hear much about losing teachers to the Savannah area. As a matter of fact I’ve worked with a couple teachers this year who left that area to join us.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogue Cock

mickray

Member
May 20, 2023
447
140
43
Teaching is a good thing, maybe the best thing. But certain unions may be
trying to gut it.
 

Rogue Cock

Joined Sep 11, 2000
Jan 22, 2022
5,994
7,999
113
Well I deal with all of the middle and high schools in Beaufort county (Bluffton and Hilton Head schools are part of the Beaufort County school system). Like many districts we always have heavy teacher turnover in my department. I pretty much stay in my lane and don’t know for sure about other areas, but I don’t hear much about losing teachers to the Savannah area. As a matter of fact I’ve worked with a couple teachers this year who left that area to join us.
The reason I ask is that 10-15 years ago. several of my daughter's teachers left to go to Pooler because of the money GA paid.
 

Rogue Cock

Joined Sep 11, 2000
Jan 22, 2022
5,994
7,999
113
Wait a bit....
why? What do you think the SC Legislature is going to allow them to do? They can't collectively bargain, they can't strike, can't do much of anything except lobby....and they don't have much success doing that.
 

Rogue Cock

Joined Sep 11, 2000
Jan 22, 2022
5,994
7,999
113
Stay thirsty, my friend.
LOL. In other words.....you are just trying to stir things up. Most of my family have been or are teachers and principals. To the best of my knowledge, neither of the teacher's unions have filed suit against the state.....where they are not likely to be successful if they tried.
 

TN-Gamecock

Joined May 10, 2002
Jan 29, 2022
1,147
981
113
I would say Riverside might have been Byrnes' basketball rivalry....I remember one year , late 80's maybe 1990 , Byrnes played them at home (D.R Hill) and they locked the doors when the gym was full and word is there were another 2000 outside trying to get in...riots were about to break out....lucky for me I had a crush on one of the girls players so I got there early to watch them and had a good seat for the boys game....do they still play at D R Hill????
I graduated Byrnes in 83 and left for Carolina, so I would catch games if I came home on early friday afternoon. Once I graduated from Carolina, I left for UT and moved to Knoxville. It was rare after 90 that I got to a football or basketball game. I followed Byrnes online with WYFF on Friday Nites.

I still watch WYFF on Friday Nites during high school football season.

My understanding is they built a new gymnasium on campus that would hold more fans (basketball). Byrnes is 3 times the size it was when I was in school. They've gone up and out. If they have to expand even more, I say move the school out off HWY 101 near BMW.

Being the school that sits between Greenville and Spartanburg off I85, it's only natural that Byrnes had the HUGE growth spurt. Our school borders these schools districts:
Greer
Riverside and JL Mann out by Bennette's Bridge Rd and Anderson Ridge Rd
Chapman
Blue Ridge up past Lyman Lake off Jordan Rd
Dorman
Woodruff

That being said you had kids from both Greenville and Spartanburg Counties going to Byrnes...just like Riverside, Chapman, and Greer also have kids from both counties.

So you could have a: Lyman, Greer, Duncan, Wellford, Spartanburg, Inman, Woodruff, Moore,and even Greenville (29615) if your parents drove you over to catch the bus at Bennett's Bridge and Anderson Mill Rd or over behind the hospital at Pelham and Brockman-McLimon.

It's such a huge school district that maybe there will be a point where they divide the school.
Byrnes is home to BMW, GSP Airport & many, many plants catering to Michelin and BMW.

Boy after writing all this, I feel like a homer!!!!!LOL

Go Rebels, Go Cocks, & Go Vols!!!!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Rogue Cock

mickray

Member
May 20, 2023
447
140
43
LOL. In other words.....you are just trying to stir things up. Most of my family have been or are teachers and principals. To the best of my knowledge, neither of the teacher's unions have filed suit against the state.....where they are not likely to be successful if they tried.
Stir or not to stir? Matters not in the grand opera, right?
 

Debo77

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2022
1,558
2,457
113
I graduated Byrnes in 83 and left for Carolina, so I would catch games if I came home on early friday afternoon. Once I graduated from Carolina, I left for UT and moved to Knoxville. It was rare after 90 that I got to a football or basketball game. I followed Byrnes online with WYFF on Friday Nites.

I still watch WYFF on Friday Nites during high school football season.

My understanding is they built a new gymnasium on campus that would hold more fans (basketball). Byrnes is 3 times the size it was when I was in school. They've gone up and out. If they have to expand even more, I say move the school out off HWY 101 near BMW.

Being the school that sits between Greenville and Spartanburg off I85, it's only natural that Byrnes had the HUGE growth spurt. Our school borders these schools districts:
Greer
Riverside and JL Mann out by Bennette's Bridge Rd and Anderson Ridge Rd
Chapman
Blue Ridge up past Lyman Lake off Jordan Rd
Dorman
Woodruff

That being said you had kids from both Greenville and Spartanburg Counties going to Byrnes...just like Riverside, Chapman, and Greer also have kids from both counties.

So you could have a: Lyman, Greer, Duncan, Wellford, Spartanburg, Inman, Woodruff, Moore,and even Greenville (29615) if your parents drove you over to catch the bus at Bennett's Bridge and Anderson Mill Rd or over behind the hospital at Pelham and Brockman-McLimon.

It's such a huge school district that maybe there will be a point where they divide the school.
Byrnes is home to BMW, GSP Airport & many, many plants catering to Michelin and BMW.

Boy after writing all this, I feel like a homer!!!!!LOL

Go Rebels, Go Cocks, & Go Vols!!!!
that was a lot to read but I did it....I came in right after you left and back then we got excited if we got a fresh coat of paint on the walls.....now look at it....but I hope they dont move....it wouldn't be right to go down Main St and Byrnes not be there....I would rather they build another school and split up
 

will110

Joined Aug 17, 2018
Jan 20, 2022
7,160
19,719
113
How many people can a town have before it loses the "small town" designation?

I went to high school at Strom Thurmond, so I spent a lot time in Edgefield. That's a small town - only 4700 people. My wife is from Branchville, only 1000 people. That's a really small town.

Beaufort, a town that's been pointed out already on this thread, has almost 14,000 people. That doesn't seem very small to me.
 

atl-cock

Well-known member
Jan 18, 2022
1,916
1,050
113
My granddaughter lives there now and teaches kindergarten in a large elementary school nearby. I love Beaufort, but sprawl and traffic are happening.
This is true. If I want to drive downtown from my home behind the National Cemetery, I have to catch the traffic light at Boundary and Charles. Unthinkable growing up in the 1960s and 1970s.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KingWard

atl-cock

Well-known member
Jan 18, 2022
1,916
1,050
113
Well I deal with all of the middle and high schools in Beaufort county (Bluffton and Hilton Head schools are part of the Beaufort County school system). Like many districts we always have heavy teacher turnover in my department. I pretty much stay in my lane and don’t know for sure about other areas, but I don’t hear much about losing teachers to the Savannah area. As a matter of fact I’ve worked with a couple teachers this year who left that area to join us.
When I was a student at Beaufort High in 1976-1977, my English teacher commuted from Savannah, and my Physics teacher from Spanish Wells on HHI.
 

atl-cock

Well-known member
Jan 18, 2022
1,916
1,050
113
How many people can a town have before it loses the "small town" designation?

I went to high school at Strom Thurmond, so I spent a lot time in Edgefield. That's a small town - only 4700 people. My wife is from Branchville, only 1000 people. That's a really small town.

Beaufort, a town that's been pointed out already on this thread, has almost 14,000 people. That doesn't seem very small to me.
When you look at the "metro" area, including St. Helena and Fripp Islands, the Burton area, Parris Island, and MCAS Beaufort, it's definitely not small. Probably close to 50k.
 

KingWard

Well-known member
Feb 15, 2022
5,508
5,947
113
This is true. If I want to drive downtown from my home behind the National Cemetery, I have to catch the traffic light at Boundary and Charles. Unthinkable growing up in the 1960s and 1970s.
That cemetery, especially the older part, is a beautiful, serene place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogue Cock

KingWard

Well-known member
Feb 15, 2022
5,508
5,947
113
When you look at the "metro" area, including St. Helena and Fripp Islands, the Burton area, Parris Island, and MCAS Beaufort, it's definitely not small. Probably close to 50k.
I guess my focus was inside the environs of the "old" town. But, yes, the area overall has lost a lot of its former appeal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogue Cock

atl-cock

Well-known member
Jan 18, 2022
1,916
1,050
113
I guess my focus was inside the environs of the "old" town. But, yes, the area overall has lost a lot of its former appeal.
Not much change in the downtown core and the old point. The northwest quadrant is slowly being gentrified.
 
Feb 24, 2024
262
227
43
Beaufort, a town that's been pointed out already on this thread, has almost 14,000 people. That doesn't seem very small to me.
Relativism is an interesting thing. I wouldn't consider anything under 10k a small town. That's getting so small that it's more like a village. I think of a small town as maybe 10k - 50k

Edit: Well I'm way TF off here in the context of standards. "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a small town is an incorporated area with a population of 5,000 or fewer people"
 

31 Flavors

Member
Feb 9, 2024
44
36
18
It's Travelers Rest, South Carolina. Travel and Leisure calls it “one of the most idyllic small towns in South Carolina.” As for hotspots, they recommend “popular restaurants like Top Soil, Monkey Wrench Smokehouse and Tandem Crêperie & Coffeehouse.
Last time I was in TR I was impressed with how many people were out and about. Good restaurants, the Swamp Rabbit Trail always has traffic. Driving range right in the middle of town, nice amphitheater just a short walk away. The only thing that worries me (and this isn't just a Travelers Rest thing) is the "moonshine" hook. Craft beer is one thing. Craft liquor, I dunno. I wonder what the drunk and disorderly stats are these days. Also, if you can sell it legally, I don't think the term "moonshine" applies. Sexier than "bathtub gin" I guess.
 

will110

Joined Aug 17, 2018
Jan 20, 2022
7,160
19,719
113
Relativism is an interesting thing. I wouldn't consider anything under 10k a small town. That's getting so small that it's more like a village. I think of a small town as maybe 10k - 50k

Edit: Well I'm way TF off here in the context of standards. "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a small town is an incorporated area with a population of 5,000 or fewer people"
Relativism is interesting for sure. I currently live in North Augusta, population 25,000. I'd consider that a small city, definitely larger than a town.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LonghornsGamecocks

mickray

Member
May 20, 2023
447
140
43
LOL. In other words.....you are just trying to stir things up. Most of my family have been or are teachers and principals. To the best of my knowledge, neither of the teacher's unions have filed suit against the state.....where they are not likely to be successful if they tried.
Not so. The calling of being a teacher is most noble. I hope it remains that way. I remember all of my 6 elementary school teachers and can recite all of their last names in less than 4 seconds. Yay me, lol.
 

TN-Gamecock

Joined May 10, 2002
Jan 29, 2022
1,147
981
113
Yep. Greer's other main rivals were Riverside (who no one could touch in baseball) and to a lesser extent Wade Hampton, but the Greer-Byrnes football games were classics and often determined the winner of the conference. I remember being told by my coach the safest place during one of those games was on the field....that you definitely didn't want to be in the stands.

Odd thing was that I lived on the Spartanburg County side of Greer (a Greenville County school). I was a couple of miles from the dividing line for Greer and Byrnes.
I drove a school bus, imagine that back in the day having 16-17 yr olds. My route was down 296 from HWY 101 to just inside the Greenville County Line at Anderson Ridge Rd.

I did a lot of backups when a bus was broken down. I ran that Greer route from the Greer Country Club back thru Apalache and 357 back to Wade Hampton there at the old Bilo shopping center. The Greer Country Club used to be all of Byrnes district as I would go into Greenville County and turn around about where the Greer high school sits today off Gap Creek.

I think the folks there may have a choice now. Before the Greer School was built, you were closer to Byrnes Campus but now obviously you would be closer to Greer's Campus. I think there may still be a lot of loyalty to Byrnes since Spartanburg County line is a mile from the Greer campus. I bet it's fun when football season comes around in those neighborhoods where your next door neighbor may be at Greer and the other at Byrnes.

Of all the upstate schools, Greer is probably about evenly divided with Spartanburg County and Greenville County kids. Byrnes and Riverside have both but not as much as Greer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rogue Cock