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Bethune, South Carolina

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1941 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Bethune census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29009. The Survey maps it on the Bethune quadrangle. 315 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 285 feet above sea level.

Bethune within Kershaw County

Population over time

3 figures

Bethune fell from 352 to 315 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000352
2010334-18 (-5%)
2020315-19 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 14 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

174 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 174 fires within 5 miles of Bethune between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,260 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 16 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning65
Missing data/not specified/undetermined58
Arson/incendiarism16
Equipment and vehicle use11
Natural8
Smoking7
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Recreation and ceremony1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Fireworks1
Other causes1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
30 September 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
27 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 2009Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
10 September 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
1 September 1999Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
8 August 2002Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
5 August 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 August 1999Debris and open burning10 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kershaw County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Bethune: 1 past producer, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Unidentified Clay MineClayPast ProducerSedimentary
Unidentified Clay MineClayUnknownSedimentary

Every working recorded in Kershaw County

Storms near this place

49 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bethune in 49 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 29 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1996Thunderstorm WindBethune1 killed, $18,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindBethune2 hurtSheriff reported trees down...some on cars with two minor injuries.
April 2011HailBethune$50,000Golfball size hail reported at the Mini Maart in Bethune. Windshield broken on a car.
July 1997Tornado (F1)Bethune$25,000An F1 tornado produced winds to 90 mph and damaged a home north of Bethune before crossing the county and and diminishing to an F0 which took down many trees in the Carolina Sand Hills National Wildlife Refuge just north of Mc Bee.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindBethune$24,000Sheriff reported a large tree down on two cars totaling them.
November 2002Thunderstorm WindBethune$18,000Storm survey found a microburst tore the roof off a garage and home and collapsed the front porch of the home. At least 3 dozen trees were also taken down.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindBethune$6,000Black River Electric Coop reported large limbs and powerlines down in Bethune.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindBethune$5,000Public reported large limbs down at Bethel Hill Church with some siding torn off.
August 2008Flash FloodBethune$5,000DOT and public reported flooding of secondary roads such as sc413 from Neds Creek and SC588 from Buffalo Creek. Street flooding also occurred in Kershaw.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBethune$3,000Dispatch reported trees down on Old Stagecoach Road near the Chesterfield County line.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindBethune$2,000Kershaw Dispatch reported powerlines down in Bethune.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBethune$1,000Public reported a couple of trees down along Doc Pate Road.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindBethune$1,000Public reported a couple of trees down near Hwy 341 and Shirley Creek road.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindBethune$1,000Public reported a tree down in a yard on Mill Pond Road.
April 2019HailBethune$100Quarter inch hail reported by a trained spotter in downtown Bethune.
July 2018HailBethune$100Captain for Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah volunteer fire station reported pea size hail in NE Kershaw Co around 1800 EDT (1700 EST) via social media.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindBethune-Tree down on Mt. Pisgah Road.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindBethune-Kershaw County Dispatch reported multiple trees down along McBee Highway.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindBethune-Numerous trees downed on Bethune Rd near Bethune. Time estimated.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindBethune-Kershaw Co. Dispatch reported trees down on Mill Creek Rd. in Bethune, exact location not given. Trees also down at Porter Rd. and Newman Rd. North of Bethune. Time estimated.
May 2020HailBethune-Kershaw Co SC Emergency Manager reported tennis ball size hail near Bethune.
May 2020HailBethune-Public reported egg size hail via social media, along with a video and a photo.
October 2019Thunderstorm WindBethune-Trees were downed in multiple locations SE of Bethune.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindBethune-County Sheriff reported trees down blocking the roadway on Mill Creek and Hough Roads.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindBethune-Sheriff dispatch reported a tree down on Pine Dr near Bethune.
April 2013HailBethune-SKYWARN spotter reported quarter size hail near Mill Creek and McCaskill roads.
April 2012HailBethune-MiniMart in Bethune reported quarter size hail in the city.
July 2012HailBethune-Public reported nickel size hail along Doc Pate Road.
July 2012HailBethune-Public reported nickel size hail.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindBethune-Sheriff's Dispatch reported trees down near the Pisgah Community.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindBethune-SKYWARN spotter reported trees and powerlines down in Bethune on hwy 341.
June 2008HailBethune-Public reported nickel size hail at a restaurant in Bethune.
June 2008HailBethune-Public reported penny to nickel size hail in the Bethune area.
May 2007HailBethune-Public reported penny size hail.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBethune-Sheriff reported trees down on hwys 341 and 257 northwest of Bethune. Post Office reported large branches down in Cassatt.
May 2006HailBethune-Public reported quarter size hail.
May 2006HailBethune-Public reported 1 inch hail.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBethune-Sheriff reported large limbs down in Bethune on Johnson road.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBethune-Lynches River Electric reported a few power outages with trees on powerlines around Beaver Dam Creek.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBethune-Highway Dept. reported a couple of trees, many large branches, and some powerlines down with power failures.
March 2005Thunderstorm WindBethune-Sheriff reported large branches and small trees down on hwy 341.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindBethune-Sheriff reported several trees and powerlines down in Bethune causing a total power outage.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindBethune-Sheriff reported some trees down in Bethune.
May 2003HailBethune-Sheriff reported golf ball size hail in Bethune.
May 2003HailBethune-Newspaper reported 3/4 inch hail.
July 2002HailBethune-Sheriff reported nickel size hail in the Bethune area.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindBethune-Post Office reported a few trees down.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindBethune-no account filed
May 1996HailBethune-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kershaw County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Pine Village0.9 miles14
Baxley1.1 miles14
Blue Spring (historical)1.1 miles14
Tillersville4.2 miles14
Cassatt5.8 miles14
Minton Mill7.1 miles13
Jordan Mill8.4 miles19
Lockhart Oil Field9.9 miles19

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BethuneAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2059796The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1246845. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.