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.
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
Padgett's Creek Baptist Churchlisted 1971
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 15 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.
- 1941 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Cross Anchor quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1986 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
65 since 1992Regional 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/undetermined | 23 |
| Debris and open burning | 18 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 7 |
| Natural | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 August 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 August 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 25 August 2007 | Natural | 5.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 August 1997 | Smoking | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 August 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 August 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gregory Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | 1908 | |
| Unnamed Feldpar Mine | Feldspar | Past Producer | Igneous | |
| Vance | Vermiculite | Past Producer | Metamorphosed Igneous Intrusion | |
| West Mine | Gold | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
20 since 1999Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | $50,000 | Part 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 2002 | Lightning | Cross Keys | $5,000 | Two cows were killed as a result of lightning. A grass fire was also started. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Public reported several trees blown down in the Cross Keys area. |
| December 2024 | Tornado (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 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | County comms reported multiple trees and power lines blown down across Union County. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Emergency manager reported multiple trees blown down across southern Union County. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | County comms reported multiple trees blown down in the Cross Keys area. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Multiple trees were blown down from Cross Keys to the Santuc community. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Numerous trees were blown down between Union and Cross Keys. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Two trees blown down around Cross Keys, including a tree on a power line off highway 49. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Several trees blown down and damage to a barn. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Several reports of trees down. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | Trees were blown down. |
| May 2009 | Hail | Cross Keys | - | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Hail | Cross Keys | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Cross Keys | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Cross Keys | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Cross Keys | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cross Keys | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcat (historical) | 2.9 miles | 15 | |
| Sedalia | 3.4 miles | 13 | |
| Bishop Town (historical) | 3.7 miles | 12 | |
| Black Jack Valley (historical) | 4.0 miles | 15 | |
| Colerain | 6.4 miles | 15 | |
| Shady Grove (historical) | 7.3 miles | 13 | |
| Tempie Hill | 8.0 miles | 12 | |
| Sardis | 8.1 miles | 12 |
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 Keys | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5188331 | 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 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.






