BlockOwings, South Carolina
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Gray Court census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29645. The Survey maps it on the Fountain Inn quadrangle.
On record in Owings
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
- Owings Historic Districtlisted 2025
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 8 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.
- 1954 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Fountain Inn quadrangle1:62500
- 1958 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Fountain Inn quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:100000
Photographs
2 photographs,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.
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fires near this place
149 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 149 fires within 5 miles of Owings between 1992 and 2019, burning about 420 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 12 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 | 56 |
| Debris and open burning | 51 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 12 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 9 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 September 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 23 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 23 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1.3 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.6 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2.5 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Owings: 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray Court #246 Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Entrekin Quarry | Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Unknown | 1908 | |
| Gray Court Quarry | Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | Metamorphosed Igneous Intrusion |
Storms near this place
11 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Owings in 11 storm reports between 2009 and 2022: 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 hail, 1 flood. The reports record 1 death. 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 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owings | 1 killed, $1,240,000 | NWS survey found an area of extensive straight line wind damage. The damage began near Gray Court, but winds intensified significantly along West Main St in the city of Laurens, mainly in areas from Todd Ave to Laurens High School. Hundreds of trees were snapped off or uprooted. A 29-year-old woman was killed on highway 321 south of the city when a tree fell on her vehicle. Numerous trees fell on homes, causing roof damage. Other trees fell on and destroyed automobiles and outbuildings. For the most part, damage caused directly by the wind was minor. However, a detached garage at the intersection of highway 76 and Stagecoach Rd had its roof blown off, causing two of the walls to collapse. Another small structure was destroyed on LC Drive. |
| November 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Owings | $50,000 | This tornado touched down along Wynfield Court north of Gray Court and moved along an intermittent path in a north northeast direction. Some trees were snapped and an outbuilding overturned near the beginning of the damage path. The tornado skipped to Robert Harris Ct, tearing the underskirting off a mobile home. Damage intensified toward Bramlett Church Rd, where a mobile home was moved from its foundation and had some siding and underskirting removed. Some shingles were torn off homes on Harris Bridge Rd, while the roofs of a well house and storage shed were blown off as well. The tornado lifted near Christmastree Lane, where several large oak trees were uprooted, one of which fell on and damaged a home. Also, a detached garage was completely destroyed at this location. |
| June 2020 | Tornado (EF0) | Owings | $10,000 | NWS storm survey found the path of a brief weak tornado just southwest of Perrin Circle in Laurens County. Residents described a wispy funnel that first touched down in a field damaged a carport and uprooted several trees as it moved into a wooded area. The weak tornado intermittently touched down and lifted along its half mile track downing a few more trees and snapping large branches before lifting just short of Cooley Road. Some minor damage occurred to an old barn as well as minor structural damage to a couple of houses. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owings | $5,000 | County comms reported part of the roof off a house, and a few trees and power lines blown on Thompson Rd near the intersection with Reedy Creek Rd. |
| November 2015 | Flood | Owings | $5,000 | After more than 4 inches of rain fell in about 36 hours, with much of that falling on the morning of the 2nd, county comms reported flooding developed across much of Laurens County. Multiple roads were closed, especially in the Gray Court, Waterloo, and Clinton areas. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owings | - | Ham radio operator reported multiple trees blown down. |
| August 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Owings | - | Although an NWS storm survey could not find any physical evidence of damage, video posted on Social Media revealed a small vortex clearly in touch with the ground and lifting debris into the area crossing I-385 between Thompson Rd and Harmony Church Rd. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owings | - | County comms reported trees blown down at the intersection of Wham Lawn Rd and Tractor Dr. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owings | - | Numerous trees blown down across the county, with the Clinton area being the hardest hit. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Owings | - | Quarter size hail fell along highway 14, north of Gray Court. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Owings | - | Trees were blown down on Thompson Rd and another tree was downed on Stewart Rd. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powers Shop (historical) | 1.1 miles | 8 | |
| Gray Court | 1.9 miles | 8 | |
| Green Pond | 3.7 miles | 8 | |
| Youngs | 3.9 miles | 8 | |
| Edens (historical) | 4.7 miles | 8 | |
| Barksdale | 4.9 miles | 8 | |
| Martin Crossroads | 5.5 miles | 8 | |
| Cooks Crossroads | 6.7 miles | 8 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1250001. 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.