Coward, South Carolina
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1946 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Coward census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29530. The Survey maps it on the Scranton quadrangle. 748 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 75 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresCoward fell from 752 to 748 between 2010 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 752 | |
| 2020 | 748 | -4 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 8 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1946 USGS Hyman quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Kingstree quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1990 USGS Scranton quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
515 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 515 fires within 5 miles of Coward between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,378 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 203 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 203 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 134 |
| Debris and open burning | 128 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 27 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 1997 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 2007 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
15 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Coward in 15 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 6 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Coward | 1 hurt, $50,000 | A mobile home, anchored to a concrete foundation, was flipped over on Cockfield Rd. The resident was taken to the hospital with a contusion to the head, as well as cuts and bruises and an injured arm. A nearby tree was splintered and pushed over. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Coward | $15,000 | A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team concluded straight-line winds to 65 mph damaged the porch of a mobile home. Minor shingle damage to a few roofs was observed. A 10 inch ornamental tree was snapped and numerous large tree limbs were down. The damage occurred on East Friendfield Road, just east of Highway 52. The time was estimated based on radar data. |
| July 2007 | Tornado (EF1) | Coward | $10,000 | National Weather Service Storm Survey concluded an EF1 Tornado with winds around 100 mph caused spotty damage along a path 1500 yards long and 30 yards wide between Old Number 4 Highway and McAllister Mill Road. Softwood trees were snapped. Chicken and animal pens were damaged and one hen died. One heavy shed was tossed. Tree debris caused minor roof and siding damage to three mobile homes. One brick home had a window blown out and sustained minor roof damage. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Coward | $9,500 | Several trees were reported down including one which fell onto a house on East Friendfield Road. An old tobacco barn and metal shed were damaged near the intersection of McGee Road and Azalea Road. The time was estimated based on radar data. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Coward | $8,500 | A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team concluded straight-line winds to 65 mph destroyed a metal carport on Union School Road and blew it 75 yards downwind. A wooden fence was also destroyed and some siding was blown off a house on Union School Road. A large tree fell onto Shiloh Church of God on East Friendfield Road. The time was estimated based on radar data. |
| September 1999 | Hail | Coward | $2,000 | South Lynches FD reported nickel size hail and a couple of trees downed. |
| August 2024 | Flash Flood | Coward | $1,000 | Flood waters have been barricaded off along Factory Road in Coward. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Coward | $1,000 | A tree was reportedly down on Salem Road. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Coward | $1,000 | A tree was reported in roadway near the intersection of Lynch Road and U.S. 52. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Coward | $1,000 | Hail to the size of quarters was reported. |
| July 2013 | Flood | Coward | - | Flooding was reported on Factory Street. |
| May 2009 | Hail | Coward | - | Hail up to the size of nickels was reported. Report was relayed through the 911 Center. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Coward | - | Quarter size hail covered the ground. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Coward | - | Coward PD reported heavy rain and lots of thunder with the hail. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Coward | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hope | 3.1 miles | 10 | |
| Salem | 3.2 miles | 8 | |
| Scranton | 3.8 miles | 8 | |
| Friendfield | 4.0 miles | 8 | |
| Lynches Mill | 5.0 miles | 10 | |
| Elim | 5.8 miles | 10 | |
| Johnson Crossroads | 5.8 miles | 10 | |
| Camp Branch | 5.8 miles | 8 |
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 Coward | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2404914 | The 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 1247407. 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.





