Gaffney, South Carolina

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Gaffney census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29340. The Survey maps it on the Gaffney quadrangle. 12,764 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 804 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Gaffney within Cherokee County

On record in Gaffney

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 9 records

Carnegie Free Librarylisted 2000
Winnie Davis Halllisted 1977
Gaffney Commercial Historic Districtlisted 1986
Gaffney Residential Historic Districtlisted 1986
Irene Mill Finishing Plantlisted 1986
Jefferies Houselisted 1986
Limestone Springs Historic Districtlisted 1986
Magness-Humphries Houselisted 2001
Settlemyer Houselisted 1986

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Broad River Bridge, Spanning Broad River at U.S. Highway 29, Gaffneyfederal building survey, 24 photographs
Cowpens Iron Furnace, 1000 feet East of County Road 34 & Cherokee Creek Bridge, Gaffneyfederal building survey, 12 photographs

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 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.

1909 USGS Gaffney quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
1953 USGS Charlotte quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1954 USGS Charlotte quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1960 USGS Charlotte quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1962 USGS Charlotte quadrangle1:250000
1971 USGS Gaffney quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1986 USGS Gastonia quadrangle1:100000
1991 USGS Gastonia quadrangle1:100000

Photographs

8 photographs, 1937

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

White sharecropper's house near Gaffney, South Carolina
Lange, Dorothea, photographer, 1937. Library of Congress

Wife and child of sharecropper near Gaffney, South Carolina. The farmer does a little day labor for his landlord. He received fifty cents a day in 1936, sixty to seventy-five cents in 1937. He raised seven bales of cotton on thirteen acres; half to his landlord
Lange, Dorothea, photographer, 1937. Library of Congress

Sharecrop farm, Gaffney, South Carolina. In 1936 he raised seven bales on thirteen acres, half of which went to his landlord
Lange, Dorothea, photographer, 1937. Library of Congress

House of cotton sharecropper (white) near Gaffney, South Carolina
Lange, Dorothea, photographer, 1937. Library of Congress

Child of sharecropper. Near Gaffney, South Carolina
Lange, Dorothea, photographer, 1937. Library of Congress

Terraced fields of sharecropper. In 1936 he made seven bales of cotton, half of which went to his landlord. Near Gaffney, South Carolina
Lange, Dorothea, photographer, 1937. Library of Congress

Broad River Bridge, Spanning Broad River at U.S. Highway 29, Gaffney, Cherokee County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Cowpens Iron Furnace, 1000 feet East of County Road 34 & Cherokee Creek Bridge, Gaffney, Cherokee County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

250 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 250 fires within 5 miles of Gaffney between 1992 and 2020, burning about 863 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 14 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	142
Debris and open burning	40
Misuse of fire by a minor	18
Equipment and vehicle use	14
Arson/incendiarism	14
Smoking	7
Recreation and ceremony	5
Railroad operations and maintenance	5
Natural	3
Other causes	1
Fireworks	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 1992	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
7 September 2007	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
4 September 1999	Debris and open burning	5.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
3 September 1999	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	6.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
29 September 1993	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
25 September 1998	Debris and open burning	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
23 September 2005	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
23 September 1993	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cherokee County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 69 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 69 workings within 5 miles of Gaffney: 61 unknowns, 4 past producers, 3 producers, 1 prospect. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Gold, Clay, Thorium, REE. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Bennet Brick and Tile Company Mine	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Cameron Mine	Silver, Lead, Copper, Sulfur, Iron	Unknown	1861
Cameron Mine	Silver, Lead, Copper	Unknown	1850
Northern Trib Cherokee Creek Monazite Placer	Thorium, REE, Corundum, Gold, Tin	Unknown	1910, 1911
Sullivan-Ballinger Farms	Manganese	Prospect
Thicketty Creek Monazite Placer Eastern Tributary	Thorium, REE, Tin, Corundum, Gold	Unknown	1910, 1911
Unnamed Garnet Occurrence Gl-102	Garnet	Unknown	Stratabound
Unnamed Mica Prospect Gl - 052	Mica	Unknown	1931
Upper Cole Creek Monazite Placer	Thorium, REE, Gold, Corundum, Tin	Unknown	1910, 1911
Draytonville Quarry	Stone, Dimension	Unknown	Metamorphosed Beds

Every working recorded in Cherokee County

Storms near this place

60 of 139 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gaffney in 139 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 81 thunderstorm wind, 43 hail, 9 lightning, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 2 injuries. 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
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	1 killed, $100,000	Multiple sources reported multiple trees blown down from the north side of Gaffney northeast along Highway 18. One tree fell on a house and another fell on a mobile home on E Jefferies St in Gaffney. A 78-year-old occupant of the mobile home was killed while sitting on the porch.
July 2012	Lightning	Gaffney	1 hurt	Lightning struck and critically injured a man working outdoors on North Granard St.
April 2023	Lightning	Gaffney	1 hurt	no account filed
June 2001	Lightning	Gaffney	$1,000,000	Lightning blew a transformer at a manufacturing plant, shutting it down for more than 24 hours and keeping 1000 employees off the job.
June 1994	Hail	Gaffney	$500,000	no account filed
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$500,000	no account filed
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$100,000	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across northern and eastern sections of Gaffney. Three trees fell on and damaged 3 homes. Other trees fell on automobiles. About 10 outbuildings were detroyed in the parking lot of a retail store. Penny size hail was also reported.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$100,000	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Part of a roof was blown off a house in Blacksburg. A roof was blown off a building in Gaffney.
September 2004	Tornado (F1)	Gaffney	$88,000	This tornado destroyed a mobile home and blew down numerous trees and power lines.
July 2008	Lightning	Gaffney	$50,000	Lightning struck a home on highway 11, igniting a fire that destroyed half the home.
June 2004	Lightning	Gaffney	$50,000	Lightning ignited fires at 3 homes across the city.
July 2004	Lightning	Gaffney	$50,000	Lightning ignited a fire at a small house, destroying the house and much of its contents.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$50,000	A fallen tree destroyed a mobile home.
May 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$50,000	Lightning set a home afire slightly injuring a man. Thunderstorm winds downed power lines and blew down some trees.
May 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$50,000	Several thunderstorms became severe during the afternoon. A couple of storms became quite strong producing golf ball-size hail at Greenwood and near Clinton. This was the second major hail event of the season for both of these communities, although these storms did not affect as large an area as the earlier storms. As the storms moved east they produced more gusty winds than hail. The tin was torn off some barns near Reidville along with downed trees and in Cherokee County a number of trees were downed causing scattered power outages. The hail there, although plentiful, had decreased to less than severe size.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$25,000	no account filed
April 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$20,000	no account filed
June 2008	Lightning	Gaffney	$15,000	Lightning struck a tree, which fell on and destroyed 2 vehicles. There was also minor damage to an adjacent home.
April 2003	Lightning	Gaffney	$15,000	no account filed
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$10,000	Emergency manager reported multiple trees blown down in and around Gaffney, with one tree on a house.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$10,000	County comms reported multiple trees and power lines blown down with at least one tree on a home.
August 2008	Heavy Rain	Gaffney	$10,000	Very heavy rainfall combined with clogged storm drains to produce deep standing water in a neighborhood on the east side of Gaffney. A couple of automobiles were submerged.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$10,000	Numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted. Some trees fell on houses and barns. A barn had half of its roof blown off. The damage was concentrated in the State Line Road community.
October 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$5,000	Emergency manager reported a large piece of metal roofing blown off a building at the intersection of Railroad Ave and Walnut St.
November 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$5,000	Some trees were blown down. Two vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. An antenna was blown out of a support on a mobile home.
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$5,000	The roof of a convenience store received some damage.
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$5,000	Supercell thunderstorm which lasted for many hours developed west of Pickens and produced two tornadoes in the upstate. The first tornado was weak but still caused nuisance type damage - blowing out underpinning from mobile homes, blowing over sheds, etc. The second tornado which developed after the storm strengthened was a strong FO tornado and caused a fair amount of damage from Gaffney to Blacksburg. Inflow into the tornado blew down a storage building and knocked down some trees in the city of Gaffney. Along Interstate 85 the tornado's winds blew down some billboards, trees and power lines. Several people saw the tornado funnel. There were a number of reports of pea to marble-size hail with the storm. The supercell and its severe weather moved into North Carolina.
August 2003	Heavy Rain	Gaffney	$5,000	no account filed
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$2,000	no account filed
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$2,000	no account filed
January 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$1,000	The underpinning was torn off of a mobile home, and power lines were blown down on Bonner Rd.
April 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$1,000	Several trees were blown down across Sirrine Drive.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	$1,000	Some powerlines were blown down.
May 2025	Hail	Gaffney	-	Emergency manager reported pea to quarter size hail.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	East Gaffney	-	Emergency manager reported a few trees and powerlines blown down between East Gaffney and Cherokee Falls.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	County comms reported numerous trees and powerlines blown down across the city of Gaffney, with additional trees down in the Blacksburg area.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Public reported (via Social Media) reported a tree and several large limbs blown down in Gaffney.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	County comms reported multiple trees and power lines blown down in the Gaffney area.
April 2020	Hail	Gaffney	-	Amateur radio reported quarter size hail in downtown Gaffney. Media reported golf ball size hail in Blacksburg.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	County comms reported several trees blown down between Gaffney and Cowpens.
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Newspaper reported multiple trees blown down in Gaffney, including along Thompson St and E Jefferies St.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	A tree was blown down on a house on Woodside Dr and trees were blown down, blocking the road on Wilkinsville Highway about 3 miles southeast of Gaffney.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Trees were blown down on Oneal St south of town. Trees were blown onto power lines on Frederick St and Union St in the city as well.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Trees were blown down near the highway 29/105 intersection.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Several trees blown down near the intersection of Gold Mine Rd and Draytonville Rd.
May 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Multiple trees and large limbs were blown down on Barclay Ave. A tree fell on a home near the Beech St intersection. Other trees were blown down along New St and Oneal St.
May 2010	Hail	East Gaffney	-	Penny size hail was reported on I-85 at the Broad River bridge.
May 2010	Hail	Gaffney	-	Dime size hail fell near the intersection of highways 18 and 105.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Scattered trees were blown down in and around the city, including one on a home on Sycamore St.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	East Gaffney	-	Multiple trees were from down from the intersection of Grubb St and 13th St, to the intersection of Peoples Creek Rd and Draytonville Rd. One tree fell on a car on Peoples Creek Rd. Trees were also blown down on Ford Rd about 4 miles east of Gaffney.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	East Gaffney	-	A couple of trees were blown down at Teague St and highway 29.
July 2009	Hail	Gaffney	-	Hail was reported at the intersection of highway 29 and Oneal St.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Several tress were blown down around Gaffney.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Trees were blown down on Holmes Rd.
March 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Trees blown down across highway 29 in the Thicketty community.
March 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	A tree was blown onto a house on Florence St. Trees were downed on N Gate Rd at the Brookside Subdivision. A large tree blew down on Blackwell Rd, and trees were blown down in the Antioch community.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Several trees were blown down.
July 2008	Hail	Gaffney	-	Nickel size hail reported between Potter Rd and State Line Rd.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Trees down in the area around Cowpens National Battlefield.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Gaffney	-	Two trees blown down.

Every storm recorded in Cherokee 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
East Gaffney	1.1 miles	16
Huntington	1.2 miles	16
Dogwood Park	1.2 miles	16
Quail Hollow	1.3 miles	16
Belmont Acres	1.3 miles	16
Arrowood	1.3 miles	16
Dogwood Springs Park	1.3 miles	16
Wood Haven Park	1.4 miles	16

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 Gaffney	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1023649	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 1247855. 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.