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Cross Keys, South Carolina

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1941 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Cross Keys census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29379. The Survey maps it on the Cross Anchor quadrangle.

Cross Keys within Union County

On record in Cross Keys

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

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 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

65 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 65 fires within 5 miles of Cross Keys between 1992 and 2018, burning about 356 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 7 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Debris and open burning18
Arson/incendiarism7
Natural7
Recreation and ceremony3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Other causes1
Smoking1

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
6 September 2003Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
5 August 1998Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 1998Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
25 August 2007Natural5.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
22 August 1997Smoking2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
16 August 1997Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
12 August 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Union 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 Cross Keys: 4 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Feldspar, Gold, Vermiculite. 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
Gregory QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast Producer1908
Unnamed Feldpar MineFeldsparPast ProducerIgneous
VanceVermiculitePast ProducerMetamorphosed Igneous Intrusion
West MineGoldPast Producer

Every working recorded in Union County

Storms near this place

20 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cross Keys in 20 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 13 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 1 lightning, 1 tornado. 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 2008Thunderstorm WindCross Keys$50,000Part of the roof was blown off a historic home. Trees were also blown down in and around Cross Keys. One tree fell on a car.
July 2002LightningCross Keys$5,000Two cows were killed as a result of lightning. A grass fire was also started.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Public reported several trees blown down in the Cross Keys area.
December 2024Tornado (EF0)Cross Keys-NWS damage survey found the path of an EF0 tornado that began along Monument Rd, just north of Blackstock Rd, where several large limbs were snapped. The tornado moved quickly north-northeast, uprooting several trees and snapping a number of large limbs along Battlefield Rd and the remainder of Monument Rd. The tornado continued into a heavily wooded area where it dissipated.
January 2023Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-County comms reported multiple trees and power lines blown down across Union County.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Emergency manager reported multiple trees blown down across southern Union County.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-County comms reported multiple trees blown down in the Cross Keys area.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Multiple trees were blown down from Cross Keys to the Santuc community.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Numerous trees were blown down between Union and Cross Keys.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Two trees blown down around Cross Keys, including a tree on a power line off highway 49.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Several trees blown down and damage to a barn.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Several reports of trees down.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-Trees were blown down.
May 2009HailCross Keys-no account filed
May 2009HailCross Keys-no account filed
June 2009HailCross Keys-no account filed
July 2008HailCross Keys-no account filed
April 2006HailCross Keys-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindCross Keys-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Union 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
Wildcat (historical)2.9 miles15
Sedalia3.4 miles13
Bishop Town (historical)3.7 miles12
Black Jack Valley (historical)4.0 miles15
Colerain6.4 miles15
Shady Grove (historical)7.3 miles13
Tempie Hill8.0 miles12
Sardis8.1 miles12

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 Cross KeysAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5188331The 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 1247434. 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.