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Cope, South Carolina

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1919 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Cope census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29038. The Survey maps it on the Norway East quadrangle. 37 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 194 feet above sea level.

Cope within Orangeburg County

On record in Cope

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

Cope fell from 107 to 37 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
2000107
201077-30 (-28%)
202037-40 (-52%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 15 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

200 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 200 fires within 5 miles of Cope between 1992 and 2020, burning about 713 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 10 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 burning87
Missing data/not specified/undetermined70
Equipment and vehicle use15
Arson/incendiarism10
Smoking7
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Natural3
Recreation and ceremony2

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
8 September 2011Debris and open burning2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 1997Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 2014Smokingunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
21 September 2019Debris and open burning8.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
26 August 2001Debris and open burning2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
23 August 2004Debris and open burning3.1 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
23 August 2002Natural25 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
22 August 2014Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Orangeburg County

Storms near this place

35 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cope in 35 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 25 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 tornado, 1 lightning. 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 1997LightningCope$300,000A lightning strike at the Cope Baptist Church caused the educational building to catch fire and burn down.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindCope$20,000Public reported numerous trees and powerlines down in and around Cope.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindCope$12,000Sheriff dispatch reported trees down in western Orangeburg county.
March 1996Tornado (F0)Cope$5,000no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCope$4,000Sheriff reported trees and powerlines down at Binncker Bridtg road and Cope road.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindCope$3,000Highway Patrol reported trees down on Hwy 70 at the Edisto River.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindCope$500Highway Patrol reported a tree in the roadway at Snake Swamp road and Hwy 301.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCope-SC DPS website reported a tree down on Binnicker Bridge Road near the intersection of Good Hope Road. Time estimated by radar.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindCope-Orangeburg Dispatch reported a tree down near the intersection of Bamberg Rd and Slab Landing Rd. Time estimated by radar.
November 2024Flash FloodCope-Orangeburg County and SC state officials confirmed a breach of Eugene and Michele Miller dam. Binnicker Bridge Road washed out and closed as a result of the dam failure.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindCope-Edisto Electric Coop reported several trees down due to strong winds in an area from near the Canaan community, east to Rowesville and vicinity to Bowman and vicinity. Specific locations not given. Time estimated.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindCope-SCHP reported tree in roadway US Hwy 301 at SC 322. Time estimated.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindCope-NWS Damage Assessment Team determined that a downburst produced straight-line wind damage just south of the intersection of Binnicker Bridge Rd and Early Morning Rd, east of Roberts Swamp. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted with a damage path length over 0.6 miles and path width of approximately 500 yards. In addition, panels were lifted off the corner of a metal roof and a small fiberglass boat was tossed over 30 yards before crashing into a wood post. Wind speeds were estimated at 85 to 95 MPH.
January 2017Tornado (EF1)Cope-The National Weather Service in Columbia has confirmed a tornado|near Cope in Orangeburg County South Carolina on January 21 2017|based on information provided by the Orangeburg County Emergency|Manager. The tornado touched down near Highway 70 near the |Orangeburg-Bamberg County line, then continued northeast across |Cope Road before dissipating near the intersection of Deer Trail |Road and Whisenhunt Road. Most of the damage observed along the |path was rated EF0, but the tornado did briefly strengthen into an|EF1 near the intersection of Highway 70 and Cope Road/Highway 332.|In this vicinity, three mobile homes were heavily damaged and a |metal farm building collapsed. Numerous trees were either snapped |or uprooted.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindCope-Dispatch reported trees down on Ember Road.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindCope-Public reported large limbs down and wind gusts estimated to be from 50 to 60 mph. They also reported pea size hail.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindCope-Public reported several limbs down and two large limbs down in Cope. They also reported dime size hail.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindCope-Public reported several limbs down, some large, along Binnicker Bridge Road. They also reported penny size hail.
March 2012Thunderstorm WindCope-Sheriff dispatch reported a tree down in the Canaan Community.
July 2012HailCope-Public reported nickel size hail near Cope along with windy conditions.
May 2011HailCope-Spotter reported nickel size hail in Cope.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindCope-Post Office reported trees down near Cope on secondary roads.
May 2008HailCope-Public reported half dollar size hail.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindCope-Highway dept. reported several trees down on hwy 301 between Cope and Orangeburg.
September 2004Tornado (F0)Cope-An F0 took down some trees along Cannon Bridge road.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindCope-Post Office reported trees down on powerlines south of Cope.
September 2001HailCope-Post Office reported 3/4 inch hail west southwest of Cope.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindCope-EPD reported trees and powerlines down in the Cope and Cannan area.
May 1999HailCope-Post Office reported nickel size hail.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindCope-Edisto Electric reported more trees and powerlines down with second storm.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindCope-Edisto Electric reported trees down in Canna Community area.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindCope-Sheriff reported trees down.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindCope-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindCope-no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindCope-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
Canaan4.9 miles18
Cordova6.0 miles18
Bolen Town6.7 miles15
Waynor (historical)7.0 miles14
Creco (historical)7.2 miles14
Gravel Hill7.3 miles18
Highland Park7.5 miles18
Norway8.1 miles14

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 CopeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2667528The 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 1247382. 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.

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.