BlockBefore

Branchville, South Carolina

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Branchville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29432. The Survey maps it on the Branchville North quadrangle. 998 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 121 feet above sea level.

Branchville within Orangeburg County

On record in Branchville

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Branchville fell from 1,083 to 998 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
20001,083
20101,024-59 (-5%)
2020998-26 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 17 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

216 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 216 fires within 5 miles of Branchville between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,541 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 22 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 burning78
Missing data/not specified/undetermined72
Arson/incendiarism22
Equipment and vehicle use20
Natural10
Smoking8
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Recreation and ceremony1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
9 September 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
9 September 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
25 September 2019Debris and open burning3.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 1998Arson/incendiarism2.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2006Natural15 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
5 August 2002Natural2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Orangeburg County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Branchville: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Branchville #1 MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Branchville No.1 MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Deerfield Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Embree Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Orangeburg County

Storms near this place

48 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Branchville in 48 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 24 thunderstorm wind, 16 hail, 7 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
July 2010Thunderstorm WindBranchville$8,000Times and Democrat reported trees down in Branchville on Barton, Edwards, and Bridge Streets.
August 2010Tornado (EF0)Branchville$6,000Storm survey by spotters from the Branchville Fire Dept. found a weak EF0 tornado intermittently touched down taking tops out of a few trees near the intersections of Prospect and School House roads and near the intersection of Banburry and School House roads. Trees were also uprooted on School House road between Prospect and Banburry roads and a couple of other trees were down on Hwy 78 southeast of Branchville near the county line.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBranchville$4,000County Dispatch reported power lines down in the Farrell Crossroads Community near the Edisto River.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindBranchville$4,000DOT reported trees down on Calhoun Street.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindBranchville$3,000Highway Patrol reported trees down and blocking a road in Branchville.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindBranchville$2,000Public reported trees down and estimated winds of around 60mph. They also had .80 inches of rain.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindBranchville$2,000Electric COOP reported outages due to large limbs on lines just west of Branchville.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBranchville$2,000Sheriff reported several trees down in Branchville.
December 2008Thunderstorm WindBranchville$1,000DOT reported a couple of trees down in Branchville.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBranchville$500Sheriff reported a tree down on Hudosn road.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBranchville$500Sheriff reported a tree down on Hudson road.
April 2024HailBranchville$100A trained spotter submitted photos of one quarter to one half inch hail, via social media, 3 miles north of Branchville on Hwy 21. Time estimated.
March 2025HailBranchville-Trained spotter reported 1 inch hail in Branchville along with debris in the roadway, reported via HAM radio.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Trees down at Oretta Rd and Dornage Rd in Branchville.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Trees down at Hudson Rd at Palmetto Sands Rd Branchville.
May 2025HailBranchville-Golf ball Sized Hail at 6292 Freedom Road.
August 2024Flash FloodBranchville-Orangeburg County dispatch reported Freedom Road in Branchville was flooded and impassable.
April 2022Tornado (EF0)Branchville-A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF0 tornado|in Orangeburg County, SC just east of Branchville. The tornado|had a path length of about 1 mile with a maximum path width of|50 yards. The peak wind associated with the tornado was 80 mph. |The tornado touched down in the athletic fields adjacent to|Branchville High School on Dorange Rd. The metal roof was removed|from an equipment shed, the baseball field backstop was missing a|portion of its fencing, and the bleachers were displaced. The|tornado then continued northeast across a field, removing|sections of roof near the intersection of Thompson Rd and Sub Rd,|before dissipating.
April 2022Tornado (EF1)Branchville-A National Weather Service survey team confirmed a tornado that began in eastern Allendale County, moved across Bamberg County, and then crossed into Orangeburg County just north of Hwy 78. At its strongest, the tornado was an EF3 in Bamberg County, but produced EF1 damage in Orangeburg County. In Orangeburg County, the tornado approached the North Fork of the Edisto river and impacted a couple of homes, resulting in significant tree damage on both|properties. As the tornado approached Freedom Road in Orangeburg County, it produced EF0 and EF1 damage as it continued to snap trees. The tornado |continued to weaken gradually as it approached Bowman, finally dissipating about 2 miles north of the town.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBranchville-SC Highway Patrol reported a tree down along Edward Street. Time estimated by radar.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Tree in roadway at Goldsmith Rd and Calhoun St. Time estimated.
April 2019Tornado (EF2)Branchville-An EF-2 tornado touched down along the South Fork of the Edisto River near South River Rd. The tornado then moved quickly to the north-northeast for nearly 11 miles, crossing Hudson Rd near the north fork of the Edisto River, Calhoun St, US Hwy 21 south of Rowesville, and then lifted along Bethel Forest Rd. The tornado did considerable damage, snapping and uprooting a large number of hardwood and softwood trees along its path. Several trees fell onto homes, vehicles and sheds. A metal shed was destroyed with debris spread over 50-100 yards. The tornado|was on the ground for about 8 minutes.
March 2019Tornado (EF0)Branchville-An EF-0 tornado touched down in Orangeburg Co near the Bamberg Co line just west of the end of South River Rd. The tornado occurred in a difficult to access location along the South Fork of the Edisto River, uprooting and snapping multiple hardwood trees near a residence.
October 2018Tornado (EF0)Branchville-Tornado, associated with Tropical Storm Michael, touched down near Edward St near Branchville and traveled a little over one mile northward to Calhoun St, causing minor damage to trees.
February 2017HailBranchville-Firefighter reported dime to penny size hail in the town of Branchville. Time estimated based on radar.
February 2017HailBranchville-Quarter sized hail reported at Branchville High School. Time estimated based on radar.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Law enforcement reported trees down on North Street.
May 2008HailBranchville-Emergency Manager reported penny size hail.
June 2008HailBranchville-Post Office reported penny size hail.
March 2008Tornado (EF3)Branchville-Extensive damage in Branchville. One home was destroyed and 16 had other moderate to major damage. One mobile home was destroyed and a half dozen had moderate to major damage. Seven buildings in downtown were destroyed, including a couple of 3 layer deep brick buildings. Thirteen others had major damage and 5 had minor damage. Amazingly there were no injuries or deaths.
June 2007HailBranchville-Public reported quarter size hail.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Highway Dept. reported a couple of trees down on hwy 78.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Highway Dept. reported a couple of trees down just southwest of Branchville on hwy 78.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Highway Dept. reported a few trees down on hwy 210.
May 2006HailBranchville-Public called in reports of nickel and quarter size hail.
May 2003HailBranchville-EM reported 3/4 inch hail near Branchville.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Storm survey found several trees down on hwy 135.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Sheriff reported trees down in the Branchville area.
May 2002HailBranchville-Post Office reported quarter size hail.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Sheriff reported trees down.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Post Office reported large limbs down in Branchville.
June 2000HailBranchville-TV meteorologist reported baseball size hail around Branchville.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindBranchville-EOC reported trees down.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindBranchville-Fire Dept reported many trees and some powerlines down on highway 61.
May 1998HailBranchville-SKYWARN spotter reported 1 inch hail.
June 1995HailBranchville-no account filed
June 1995HailBranchville-no account filed
June 1994HailBranchville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Orangeburg 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
Fifty Eight (historical)3.4 miles18
Sixty Six3.8 miles17
Lambrick5.7 miles18
Sandy Run7.2 miles18
Rowesville8.3 miles17
Canaan8.5 miles18
Bowman9.7 miles18
Highland Park12.5 miles18

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 BranchvilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2009620The 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 1220931. 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.