Lexington, South Carolina
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Lexington census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29072. It stands on Long Branch. The Survey maps it on the Lexington quadrangle. 23,568 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 394 feet above sea level.
On record in Lexington
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 12 of 18 shown
Ballentine-Shealy Houselisted 1983
Bank of Western Carolinalisted 1983
W. Q. M. Berly Houselisted 1983
William Berly Houselisted 1977
Lemuel Boozer Houselisted 1977
C. E. Corley Houselisted 1983
Fox Houselisted 1970
Gunter-Summers Houselisted 1987
James Harman Buildinglisted 1983
Ernest L. Hazelius Houselisted 1973
John Solomon Hendrix Houselisted 1983
Home National Banklisted 1983
Population over time
2 figuresLexington grew from 17,870 to 23,568 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 | 17,870 | |
| 2020 | 23,568 | +5,698 (+32%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 13 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.
- 1944 USGS Edmund quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Lexington quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1983 USGS Aiken quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
492 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 492 fires within 5 miles of Lexington between 1992 and 2020, burning about 728 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 25 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 | 244 |
| Debris and open burning | 88 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 87 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 25 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 20 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Natural | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1997 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1997 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 26 September 1998 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Lexington: 4 unknowns, 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Zirconium, Titanium, Iron, Thorium, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bledsoe | Sand | Unknown | Sedimentary | |
| Casparis Stone Quarry | Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | 1902 | |
| Harleys Mill Pond | Iron, Titanium, Zirconium | Unknown | Placer , Modern , Fluvial | |
| Lexington Mine | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Past Producer | ||
| Twelve Mile Creek | Zirconium, Titanium, Iron, Thorium | Unknown | Placer , Modern , Fluvial | |
| Epting Ballanger Roland Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Lexington Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | Sedimentary |
Storms near this place
60 of 148 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lexington in 148 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 98 thunderstorm wind, 31 hail, 6 tornado, 5 flash flood. The reports record 1 death and 43 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2004 | Lightning | Lexington | 1 killed, 1 hurt | Lightning struck a tree and branched off to hit a man and a woman. The man was killed and the woman had a slight injury. |
| August 1994 | Tornado (F3) | Lexington | 40 hurt, $50,000,000 | Lake Murray ,Tornado touched down near intersection of SC311 and SC244 3 miles south-southeast of Lexington. Major damage occurred to the Glassmaster factory at the intersection of SC6 and Interstate 20. The tornado from that point was mostly on the ground as it moved through east and north central Lexington. Outside of Lexington, the tornado passed near the Rikard Nursing home. The storm became more intense with another area of severe damage in the Secret Cove area along the south Lake Murray shore. The tornado apparently dissipated over Lake Murray although strong winds were noted in the Old Forbes Road area on the northern shore of Lake Murray. Approximately 200 homes were damaged, many businesses, several churches and public buildings were also damaged. Five electric substations were damaged in Lexington County with 15,000 customers without electrical power. Forty people were injured. The tornado was observed by many people from the time it first struck near SC602 until it dissipated over Lake Murray. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | 2 hurt, $15,000 | Trees fell on a vehicle as it pulled out from under an over pass on I-20 at SC highway 34. |
| October 2015 | Flash Flood | Lexington | $500,000 | NWS employee reports flooding at Silverstone road and Whiteford Way. |
| October 2015 | Flash Flood | Lexington | $500,000 | NWS employee reports US 1 about 1 mile west of I-20 flooded and impassable. |
| June 1996 | Lightning | Lexington | $300,000 | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Lightning | Lexington | $120,000 | WIS TV reported a home had major damage from a lightning induced fire on Ball Park road. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $120,000 | Two large trees fell on a home pretty much destroying it. One person was trapped inside but was not injured. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $120,000 | Sheriff Dispatch reported numerous trees down and large limbs down across the town. Several homes were damaged. NWS Survey reported that the damage was due to a wet microburst which produced winds estimated to be around 90 mph. |
| October 2015 | Flash Flood | Lexington | $100,000 | Old Mill Pond Dam failed along Twelve Mile Creek. Damaged businesses downstream along with roadway at highway 1 and a family had to be rescued from their home. |
| October 2015 | Flash Flood | Lexington | $75,000 | Gibson Pond Park Dam Failed along Twelve Mile Creek in Lexington. |
| May 2000 | Lightning | Lexington | $75,000 | Lightning struck a home at 213 Chancery Lane and caused $75K in damage. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $60,000 | EM reported many trees down around the city, some on a couple of homes. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $60,000 | NWS Storm Survey indicated a microburst affect 2 neighborhoods 1 to 2 miles west northwest of Lexington. Winds were estimated to have ranged from 80 to 90 mph. The Westbrook and Martins Grove neighborhoods were hit the hardest. Several homes sustained some damage to vinyl siding and a couple homes had roof damage. There were numerous large limbs down but also several trees that were snapped off or up rooted. Limbs and trees fell on a few houses as well as one car. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $18,000 | Highway Patrol reported trees down in the greater Lexington and Red Bank areas. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $12,000 | EM reported scattered trees down throughout the county. |
| December 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $12,000 | Emergency Manager reported trees down and a mobile home overturned. There were no injuries. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $8,000 | Sheriff reported trees down along the 1500 block of Corley Mill road. |
| March 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $6,000 | NWS employee reported several trees down around the Lexington area. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $6,000 | Sheriff reported several trees and powerlines down around Lexington. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $6,000 | Sheriff reported trees down around the 1500 block of Old Orangeburg road. |
| January 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $5,000 | Sheriff reported powerlines down near Beechwood and Old Cherokee roads. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $5,000 | Spotter reported trees down and shingles blown off a house near Platt Springs road and White Knoll High School. |
| October 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $4,000 | NWS employee reoprted two trees down and minor damage to a home. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $4,000 | Highway Patrol reported trees down near Barr road and Rawl road. |
| November 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $3,000 | NWS employee reported trees down on Mineral Springs Road in Lexington. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $3,000 | Storm survey found a large tree down and a roof peeled off half of a mobile home. A funnel cloud was reported but damage was due to a microburst. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $2,000 | Highway Patrol reported trees down at the intersection of US 378 and Woodvine Drive. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $2,000 | Sheriff reported a couple of trees down on Old Chapin Road in Governors Grant. |
| December 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $2,000 | Sheriff and off duty employee reported trees down at the intersection of Hwy 378 and Mineral Springs Road. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $1,000 | Public reported a tree and large limbs down. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $500 | Sheriff reported a tree in the road on Pilgrim Church Road off of North Lake Road. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | $500 | Tree down on Cherokee Trail near Northwood Drive. |
| February 2024 | Hail | Lexington | $100 | Multiple reports from the public of pea size hail in Lexington were received. |
| February 2024 | Hail | Lexington | $100 | An mPING report of half inch hail about 2 miles NE of Lexington was received. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Lexington | $100 | Half inch hail reported, along with estimated wind gusts of 40 mph, in Lexington. |
| December 2019 | Flash Flood | Lexington | $100 | SCHP reported a roadway washout on Reed Ave at Wessinger Dr in Lexington. Time estimated. |
| February 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | NWS employee reported large limbs down blocking the road on Railroad Ave in Lexington. Time estimated. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | NWS Employee reported trees and large limbs down along Coventry Lake Drive from the intersection with Treesdale Court to Widgeon Drive. |
| June 2024 | Hail | Lexington | - | Spotter relayed through social media an estimate of nickel-sized hail. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Lexington PD reported a large tree blocking Harmon St near Taylor Dr. Time estimated. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Lexington County EM reported multiple trees down on Old Chapin Road in Lexington. Specific locations not provided. Time estimate by radar. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Lexington County EM reported tree blocking lanes on Burton Road near I-20. Specific location not provided. Time estimated by radar. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Trained spotter reported tree limb down on a power line at the intersection of Sunset Blvd and Whiteford Way via social media. Time estimated by radar. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Lexington County EM reported downed trees on N Lake Dr near the intersection of E Butler St. Time estimated by radar. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Lexington County EM reported downed trees on Cedar Crest Dr near the intersection of Freedom Dr. Time estimated by radar. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | SC Highway Patrol reported roadway blocked by tree near the intersection of Rawl Road and Clear Springs Trail. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Lexington | - | Report of nickel size hail in the Cherokee Lakes subdivision near the Town of Lexington. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | SCHP reported trees in roadway at Interstate 20 and SC Hwy 6 (Exit 55). Time estimated. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | SCHP reported a tree on roadway at Pisgah Church Road and US Hwy. 1. Time estimated. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Lexington Co Emergency Manager reported a power line down on Harmon St and Laurel St. Time estimated. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | NWS Employee reported a tree partially snapped on Canting Way in Lexington. Time estimated. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Lexington Co Emergency Manager reported a power line down at the intersection of Barr Rd and Wildlife Rd. Time estimated. |
| February 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Two trees were downed, blocking the 400 block of Barr Rd. Time estimated. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Tree down on Taylor Dr near US Hwy 1 (Main St) in Lexington. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | SCHP reported tree in roadway at Zenker Rd at Wildlife Rd. Time estimated. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | SCHP reported tree in roadway on Industrial Dr and Porsche Dr. Time estimated. |
| October 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Lexington | - | The final touchdown occurred near Lexington Middle School near the intersection of Dreher St and Harmon St. A large hardwood tree snapped and took down a power line. A small hardwood tree was snapped about 30 feet off the ground. There were several large limbs that came down on a power line along Harmon St. Portions of a wooden fence were blown over behind a home along Dreher St. |
| March 2019 | Tornado (EF1) | Lexington | - | A tornado touched down near Industrial Blvd in Lexington, then tracked to the east for approximately 1.9 miles, crossing S Lake Dr, Glassmaster Rd, I-20 and Two Notch Rd, before dissipating near Shirway Rd. The tornado produced damage to several|businesses along the path. There was damage to an awning at the Shell gas station on South Lake Drive at Glassmaster Rd. The roof was blown of the porch of a seafood restaurant. There were about 8 recreational vehicles that were overturned at a business along Glassmaster Rd., with several of them moving nearly 50 yards. Two|other large trailers were overturned at another business along Glassmaster Rd. Some minor roof damage occurred to homes near Shirway Rd and Dusty Ct. Many hardwood and softwood trees were also snapped or uprooted along the path of the tornado. |
| April 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lexington | - | Tree down on a house at 400 Laurel Dr. Time estimated. |
Newspapers printed here
10,270 digitised pages3 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 1,445 issues, 10,270 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.
| Newspaper | Published |
|---|---|
| The Lexington Dispatch | 1870 to 1917 |
| The Dispatch-News | 1919 to 2001 |
| Lexington Dispatch-News | 1917 to 1919 |
What the paper printed
11,866 wordsFront pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 7 issues spread across its run from 1873 to 1927, 11,866 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.
These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.
| Issue | Paper | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1873-07-16 | The Lexington Dispatch | 1,553 words |
| 1916-09-20 | The Lexington Dispatch | 1,157 words |
| 1917-11-21 | The Dispatch-News | 3,455 words |
| 1927-03-30 | The Dispatch-News | 2,289 words |
| 1917-06-13 | Lexington Dispatch-News | 1,080 words |
| 1917-11-14 | Lexington Dispatch-News | 1,154 words |
| 1917-12-19 | Lexington Dispatch-News | 1,178 words |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington Woods | 0.5 miles | 13 | |
| Lakewood | 0.8 miles | 13 | |
| Heritage Hills | 0.8 miles | 13 | |
| Coventry Woods | 0.9 miles | 13 | |
| Lakeland | 1.0 miles | 12 | |
| Harrisburg | 2.0 miles | 13 | |
| Creekwood | 2.3 miles | 12 | |
| Baskin Hills | 2.4 miles | 13 |
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 Lexington | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q731091 | 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 1246349. 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.







