Ninety Six, South Carolina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ninety Six, South Carolina
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Sunset over the battlefield at Star Fort
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Location of Ninety Six, South Carolina
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| Country | United States |
| State | South Carolina |
| County | Greenwood |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.82 sq mi (4.72 km2) |
| • Land | 1.82 sq mi (4.72 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 548 ft (167 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 1,998 |
| • Estimate
(2019)
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2,042 |
| • Density | 1,120.75/sq mi (432.61/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
29666
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| Area code | 864 |
| FIPS code | 45-50290 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1249874 |
Ninety Six is a town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,998 at the 2010 census.
Contents
Geography
Ninety Six is located in eastern Greenwood County at 34°10′24″N 82°1′18″W / 34.17333°N 82.02167°W (34.173211, -82.021710). South Carolina Highway 34 passes through the town as its Main Street; it leads west 9 miles (14 km) to Greenwood, the county seat, and east 27 miles (43 km) to Newberry. Lake Greenwood State Park is 5 miles (8 km) northeast of town, and Ninety Six National Historic Site is 2 miles (3 km) south of the center of town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Ninety Six has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2), all land.
Etymology
There is much confusion about the name, "Ninety-Six", and the true origin may never be known. Speculation has led to the mistaken belief that it was 96 miles (154 km) to the nearest Cherokee settlement of Keowee; to a counting of creeks crossing the main road leading from Lexington, South Carolina, to Ninety-Six; to an interpretation of a Welsh expression, nant-sych, meaning "dry gulch". No one is able to confirm that founder Robert Goudey (sic) was Welsh, English, Scottish, or German. An examination of early maps indicates markings such as "30" and "60" and "90" at different points, possibly indicating chains, a surveying measurement. Since Ninety-Six was located in Clarendon Parish, it is possible that parish linear measurements as used in England were used on colonial maps to measure distances in "chains". In England, according to a British and Welsh booklet designating linear measurements, parish maps used a rule of "4 chains to the inch". In using that parish rule on an early map of colonial South Carolina, 90 "chains" on a map would probably cover approximately 24 inches (610 mm), the map distance from "Saxe Gotha" (modern Lexington, South Carolina) to Ninety-Six. Using the same measurements for the distance from Ninety-Six to the Savannah River, the measurement would be approximately 2.5 inches (64 mm), or (very) roughly 6 "chains", hence 96. Even so, the origin of the name "Ninety-Six" remains a mystery.
History
Ninety Six was established on the frontier in the early 18th century. For a time it was known as "Jews Land" because some prominent Sephardic Jewish families of London bought extensive property there. The Salvador and DaCosta families bought 200,000 acres (810 km2), intending to help some poor Sephardic families relocate from London to the New World.
The settlement became the capital city of the Ninety-Six District when it was established in July 1769. Since the late 20th century, the National Park Service operates the Ninety Six National Historic Site at the site of the original settlement and fort.
Ninety Six figured prominently in the Anglo-Cherokee War (1758–1761). During the American Revolutionary War, it was a site for southern campaigns. The first land battle of the revolution south of New England was fought here in 1775. On August 1, 1775, American militia forces led by Major Andrew Williamson were ambushed by Cherokee and Loyalists near here in the Battle of Twelve Mile Creek; more than 4,000 Cherokee had waged war on a long front beginning in June, from Tennessee to central South Carolina. Francis Salvador, a Sephardic Jewish immigrant from London and a planter, was one of the casualties; he was the first Jew to be killed fighting with the Patriots in the Revolutionary War.
In 1780 the British fortified the strategically important frontier town with a star fort. From May 22 to June 18, 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, with 1,000 Continental Army troops, besieged 550 American Loyalists who were defending Ninety Six. General Greene's chief engineer at the siege was the world-renowned Polish hero Colonel Tadeusz Kościuszko, who was wounded at the siege. The Loyalists survived the siege and relocated after the war to Rawdon, Nova Scotia, Canada, with support from the Crown for resettlement.
The Kinard House, Moore-Kinard House, Ninety Six National Historic Site, and Southern Railway Depot (Ninety Six, South Carolina) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 468 | — | |
| 1890 | 445 | −4.9% | |
| 1900 | 414 | −7.0% | |
| 1910 | 758 | 83.1% | |
| 1920 | 773 | 2.0% | |
| 1930 | 1,381 | 78.7% | |
| 1940 | 1,453 | 5.2% | |
| 1950 | 1,556 | 7.1% | |
| 1960 | 1,435 | −7.8% | |
| 1970 | 2,166 | 50.9% | |
| 1980 | 2,249 | 3.8% | |
| 1990 | 2,099 | −6.7% | |
| 2000 | 1,936 | −7.8% | |
| 2010 | 1,998 | 3.2% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 2,042 | 2.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,518 | 73.12% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 434 | 20.91% |
| Native American | 2 | 0.1% |
| Asian | 1 | 0.05% |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 74 | 3.56% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 46 | 2.22% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,076 people, 706 households, and 520 families residing in the town.
Representation in popular culture
The 1781 siege was described in William Gilmore Simms' novel, The Forayers, (1855). It is also featured in Kenneth Roberts' novel, Oliver Wiswell (1940), which includes a chapter entitled "Ninety-Six."
The town is mentioned in the song "This Old Skin" by The Beautiful South.
Education
Ninety Six has a public library, a branch of the Greenwood County Library System.
Notable people
- Orville Vernon Burton, professor of history at Clemson University, was raised in Ninety Six. His book, In My Father's House Are Many Mansions: Family and Community in Edgefield, South Carolina traces the social history of that region.
- Cal Drummond, Major League Baseball umpire born in Ninety Six
- John W. Drummond, South Carolina businessman and legislator
- Benjamin Mays, sixth president of Morehouse College and mentor to Morehouse student Martin Luther King Jr.; born in the vicinity of Ninety Six
- Odean Pope (1938–present), jazz tenor saxophonist, born in Ninety Six but grew up in Philadelphia
- Francis Salvador (1747–1776), bought land in Ninety-Six District, and was the first Jew to be elected to public office in the colonies (1774, to SC's Provincial Congress); after joining the militia, in 1776 he was the first Jew killed in the American Revolution in a battle with Loyalists and Cherokee
- Bill Voiselle, pitcher for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, and Chicago Cubs, wore his hometown as uniform number "96" when playing with Boston and Chicago.
See also
In Spanish: Ninety Six para niños
