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Gowensville, South Carolina

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Highland census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29356. It stands on Belue Creek. The Survey maps it on the Campobello quadrangle.

Gowensville within Greenville County

On record in Gowensville

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

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 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

78 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Gowensville between 1992 and 2018, burning about 573 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 8 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/undetermined29
Debris and open burning24
Arson/incendiarism8
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking3
Other causes2
Recreation and ceremony2
Natural1

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
9 September 2002Debris and open burning2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 1999Smoking2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 2007Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 August 2006Debris and open burning2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 1997Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
11 August 2008Debris and open burning5.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
20 July 2002Debris and open burning2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
20 July 2002Debris and open burning3.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Greenville 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 Gowensville: 2 past producers, 1 unknown, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Iron, Feldspar, Mica. 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
Feldspar/Mica MineFeldspar, MicaPast Producer
Stanley Adkins ProspectIronOccurrence
Cureton MineGoldPast Producer1908
Wolf & Tyger PlacerGoldUnknownPlacer

Every working recorded in Greenville County

Storms near this place

14 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gowensville in 14 storm reports between 2006 and 2025: 8 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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
October 2017Tornado (EF1)Gowensville$50,000NWS storm survey found an area of tornado damage in the Lake Lanier area in extreme norteast Greenville County. Tornado impacted the Lake Lanier area. The tornado initially touched down about a half mile south of the lake, blowing down numerous trees, causing mostly minor structural damage to homes and damaging multiple outbuildings, although one home did have a large part of its roof removed. Some trees fell on structures and vehicles. The tornado moved almost due north to the lake, with additional damage noted on both shores. No further damage was found north of the lake in South Carolina.
October 2014Tornado (EF0)Gowensville$1,000NWS Storm Survey team found the short path of a weak tornado near Gowensville. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Highway 11 and Tugaloo Rd and moved quickly northeast, blowing down numerous trees and blowing the roof off a shed on Good Rd, where the tornado lifted.
August 2017Flash FloodGowensville$500NWS employee reported flash flooding developed after 2.5 to over 4 inches of rain fell over the Gowensville and Blue Ridge areas in just a few hours. Campbell Creek overflowed its banks and flooded portions of Tugaloo Rd and Stone Cottage Ln. A tributary of the Middle Tyger River also flooded a portion of Lister Rd.
April 2025HailGowensville-Public reported 3/4 inch hail near the intersection of Highways 14 and 414.
May 2025HailGowensville-CoCoRahs observer reported quarter size Hail Just SSE of Gowensville.
May 2022HailGowensville-Public reported nickel to quarter sized hail near Gowensville.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindGowensville-Highway patrol and public reported multiple trees blown down near Oak Grove Rd and the Pacolet River.
June 2013HailGowensville-Penny size hail was reported on highway 14 near highway 414.
September 2013HailGowensville-Dime to nickel size hail was reported in the Gowensville community.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindGowensville-A tree and several large limbs were blown down in the Gowensville community.
March 2010Thunderstorm WindGowensville-Multiple tree limbs were blown down west of Gowensville.
July 2008HailGowensville-Hail reported on Pink Campbell Rd.
May 2011HailGowensville-no account filed
April 2006HailGowensville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Greenville 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
Tyger (historical)2.4 miles15
Mitchell (historical)4.4 miles17
Glassy4.7 miles17
Pleasant Hill4.7 miles17
Jordan5.2 miles17
Lake Lanier5.2 miles16
Highland5.4 miles17
Skyland5.4 miles17

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.

Wikidata item Q122548619The 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 1251672. 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.