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Pickens, South Carolina

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Pickens census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29671. It lies near Cannon Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Pickens quadrangle. 3,388 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,093 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Pickens within Pickens County

On record in Pickens

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 10 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Population over time

3 figures

Pickens grew from 3,012 to 3,388 between 2000 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.

YearPeople Change
20003,012
20103,126+114 (+4%)
20203,388+262 (+8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 17 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.

Photographs

8 of 9 photographs shown,

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.

Lower Gassaway Bridge, State Route 137, spanning Twelve Mile Creek, Norris, Pickens County, SC
Lower Gassaway Bridge, State Route 137, spanning Twelve Mile Creek, Norris, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Hopewell Meetinghouse, Anderson-Seneca Road, U.S. Route 76 vicinity, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Hopewell Meetinghouse, Anderson-Seneca Road, U.S. Route 76 vicinity, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fort Hill, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Fort Hill, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fort Hill, Spring House, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Fort Hill, Spring House, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fort Hill, Kitchen, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Fort Hill, Kitchen, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 & 199, Pickens, Pickens County, SC
Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 & 199, Pickens, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Old Stone Church & Cemetery, Off US Route 76, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Old Stone Church & Cemetery, Off US Route 76, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fort Hill, Office, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Fort Hill, Office, Clemson University Campus, Clemson, Pickens County, SC
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Pickens County

Fires near this place

312 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 312 fires within 5 miles of Pickens between 1992 and 2020, burning about 628 acres in total. 7 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
Debris and open burning126
Missing data/not specified/undetermined110
Misuse of fire by a minor21
Equipment and vehicle use18
Arson/incendiarism14
Smoking9
Natural7
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Fireworks1
Recreation and ceremony1

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 1997Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1998Debris and open burning3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2017Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 1999Smoking1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
26 September 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pickens County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Pickens: 3 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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
Harvey Harper ProspectMicaProspect
Kirksey ProspectMicaProspect
Mccomb ProspectMicaProspect

Every working recorded in Pickens County

Storms near this place

60 of 73 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pickens in 73 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 45 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 5 flash flood, 2 lightning. The reports record 1 death and 4 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 1998Flash FloodPickens1 killed, 3 hurt, $50,000Excessive rain fell just north of Pickens causing raging water flowing into a lake to wash out a road. Two cars drove into this washout around 2300 EST and then were swept into the lake, killing one young man and injuring three other people.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindPickens1 hurtno account filed
March 1993HailPickens$500,000no account filed
July 2005Flash FloodPickens$400,000Flooding began around Easley during the late morning, when several roads were underwater, including Stewart Dr, Campbell Ave, and Saluda Dam Rd, where a car was swept away by flood water. Flooding became quite serious around 10 AM, when water from Georges Creek entered 8 homes in the Quail Haven s/d, forcing evacuations. Some of the homes and their contents were damaged extensively and rendered uninhabitable. At least 1 bridge was washed out. A family required rescue when their van succombed to flood water in the Oak Creek subdivision. Near Pickens, a flea market was underwater when a feeder creek of Twelvemile Creek flooded. Several roads were closed in Pickens, including City Lake and Slickum Rds. A bridge on Odom Rd in Pickens received some minor damage and a portion of Ballard Hill Rd was washed out.
June 2006Flash FloodPickens$50,000Severe urban and poor drainage flooding and some stream flooding developed in Pickens when 8 to 10 inches fell across the county in about an 8 hour period. Several roads were closed in an around the city, including highway 178 North. Water entered several businesses along this section of 178, apparently due to flooding along Towne Creek. Other closed roads included City Lake Rd, Hollingsworth Rd, and Runymeade Rd. The Pickens flea market flooded to depths of 5 feet as rapid runoff from heavy rain collected in this low lying area. Highway 183 was also flooded near the flea market.
August 1994HailPickens$50,000,,,,,,,,Thunderstorm Winds
March 2016Thunderstorm WindPickens$30,000Public, HAM Radio operator, and county comms reported wind damage from the city of Pickens east through the Dacusville area. Some exterior damage occurred to a building on W Main St in Pickens, including part of a tin roof that was peeled off. Part of the roof was also torn off a well-contructed barn near the intersection of Albatross Rd and Hitt Rd. Otherwise, numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down throughout the area, with one limb through the windshield of a vehicle in the Dacusville area.
January 1996Thunderstorm WindPickens$30,000no account filed
May 2005LightningPickens$16,000Lightning killed 16 cows.
April 2005Tornado (F1)Pickens$15,000This tornado touched down just northwest of Pickens, where 3 barns were destroyed near the intersection of Gravley Rd and Artie Rd. Numerous trees were blown down from the intersection of Red Hill and Reece Mill Rds east to highway 178. The tornado continued an intermittent ENE track, snapping off and uprooting numerous trees along an 8 mile path before lifting west of Dacusville. At least one tree fell on a house, and at least one car was damaged. Newspaper reported thousands of power outages across the county. There was also a spotter report of mothball hail in Pickens at 2:30.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindPickens$10,000Divergent damage path ran from the intersection of Shady Grove and Martin School Rds to highway 178 north of Pickens. Spotter estimated 65 mph winds in Pickens. Several trees and lines down from Pickens to Liberty. At least one tree fell on a house near Liberty High School. A car was blown into another car at the Nissan plant near Liberty.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindPickens$5,000Trees were blown down and an outbuilding was destroyed.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindPickens$5,000no account filed
January 1995Thunderstorm WindPickens$2,500no account filed
August 2023Tornado (EF0)Pickens$2,000NWS storm survey found the path of an EF0 tornado that touched down near the intersection of Shady Grove Rd and Morgan Jane Lane, moving just south of due east across Thomas Rd, Sidney Dr, Highway 183 (near the intersection of Singleton Rd before lifting in downtown Pickens. Damage was limited to multiple uprooted trees, snapped large limbs, and minor damage to outbuildings.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindPickens$1,000Some trees and power lines were blown down.
November 2002Thunderstorm WindPickens$1,000A number of trees and power lines were blown down along Highway 11 in the Laurel Valley community.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindPickens$1,000no account filed
June 2025HailPickens-Public reported (via Social Media) up to ping pong ball size hail with damage to a vehicle in the Pickens area.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindPickens-Public reported (via Social Media) multiple trees blown down just northeast of Pickens.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindPickens-County comms reported a few trees blown down near Pickens.
July 2023HailPickens-Public reported 3/4 inch hail.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindPickens-County comms reported multiple trees down east of Pickens through north of Easley.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindPickens-County comms reported widespread trees and power lines blown down across Pickens County, especially across the eastern half of the county.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindPickens-Public reported multiple trees uprooted in the area surrounding Luna Ln in Central. Ham radio operator reported multiple trees blown down in the Pickens area.
September 2019Thunderstorm WindPickens-County comms and high patrol reported a couple of trees blown down east of Pickens including at Glassy Mountain Church Rd and Rhymes Rhymes Ln.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindPickens-County comms reported numerous trees and power lines blown down, mainly across the eastern half of Pickens County.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindPickens-Public reported multiple trees blown down in Pickens, especially off Glassy Mountain St.
March 2017HailPickens-Public reported 3/4 inch hail in the Pickens area.
March 2017HailPickens-Public reported (via Social Media) ping pong ball size hail in the Pickens area associated with a second storm.
April 2016HailPickens-CoCoRahs observers, HAM Radio operators, the public, and spotters reported quarter size hail across much of central Pickens County.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindPickens-Law enforcement reported a few trees blown down in the Pickens area.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindPickens-County comms reported multiple trees blown down across the eastern half of Pickens County, including the Pickens, Easley, and Dacusville area.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindPickens-Trees were blown down around Cove Creek Rd and Porter Rd. Additional trees were downed along highway 178 just north of town. Also, utility company reported multiple large oak trees down along highway 178 near Hagood Mill Rd.
April 2012Thunderstorm WindPickens-Trees and power lines were blown down near the intersection of highway 11 and 178.
April 2012HailPickens-Penny size hail fell along Meece Mill Rd.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindPickens-A tree was blown down on Welborn Rd and another nearby on Ireland Rd.
June 2010HailPickens-Quarter to golf ball size size hail fell on Fox Squirrel Rd.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindPickens-Part of the metal roof was blown off of a car dealership and numerous trees were blown down around Pickens. Three trees were also blown down onto highway 183 3.5 miles east of Pickens.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindPickens-Trees and power lines were blown down on the west and north side of the city of Pickens.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindPickens-Numerous trees were blown down across the northern part of the county.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindPickens-Two trees were blown down and blocked roads in the Sunset community.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindPickens-Quite a few trees blown down from Lake Keowee to Easley.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindPickens-Numerous trees were blown down in and around Pickens.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindPickens-Two trees blown down near the intersection of Cleo-Chapman Highway and Mill Creek Rd.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindPickens-Two trees blown down at the highway 178, highway 8 intersection.
March 2007FloodPickens-Flooding in Pickens County included portions of the Saluda River and Gregory Creek, which flooded the bridge over Concord Church Rd near its intersection with Massingill Memorial. Mauldin Lake Rd was also under water, apparently due to flooding along Wolf Creek. Water was also over highway 183 in several places, mainly due to poor drainage.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindPickens-Trees were blown down off of highway 178.
June 2007HailPickens-Reported on Midway Rd.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindPickens-Several trees blown down across Table Rock State Park.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindPickens-The top of a small oak tree was snapped off and several large limbs were downed.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindPickens-Spotter estimated winds of 75 to 100 mph. He counted over 100 large trees uprooted in a divergent pattern in a 25 acre area near the Keowee Mountain Estates off of highway 133 near Nine Times.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindPickens-A few trees down west of Liberty.
July 2003HailPickens-Hail fell on highway 8 between Pickens and Table Rock.
July 2003Flash FloodPickens-A portion of Tiger Lane was washed out by heavy rain.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindPickens-Several trees were blown down along highways 8 and 178 between Pickens and Easley.
September 2003Flash FloodPickens-A strong storm system produced very heavy rainfall across portions of the Upstate, which resulted in some flooding across Pickens County. A creek flooded part of City Lake Road. Flooding of urban and poor drainage areas was fairly widespread across the county.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindPickens-Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in extreme northern Pickens County as a squall line moved in from the west. Some trees fell onto roads. The first area affected was north of Highway 11, west of Table Rock.
June 2010HailPickens-no account filed
May 2006HailPickens-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pickens County

Newspapers printed here

26,894 digitised pages

6 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 4,711 issues, 26,894 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.

NewspaperPublished
The Pickens Sentinel1871 to 1903
The People's Journal1891 to 1903
The Pickens Sentinel-Journal1903 to 1906
The Pickens Sentinel1911 to 2016
The Sentinel-Journal1906 to 1909
The Pickens Sentinel-Journal1909 to 1911

What the paper printed

56,724 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 13 issues spread across its run from 1891 to 1911, 56,724 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.

IssuePaper Length
1906-11-10The Sentinel-Journal627 words
1909-03-18The Pickens Sentinel-Journal5,573 words
1909-05-27The Pickens Sentinel-Journal4,631 words
1909-08-12The Pickens Sentinel-Journal5,164 words
1909-10-21The Pickens Sentinel-Journal3,059 words
1894-09-13The Pickens Sentinel7,622 words
1891-03-12The People's Journal827 words
1903-06-04The Pickens Sentinel-Journal6,614 words
1903-08-06The Pickens Sentinel-Journal6,015 words
1903-10-14The Pickens Sentinel-Journal4,958 words
1911-10-05The Pickens Sentinel3,326 words
1911-11-02The Pickens Sentinel4,813 words
1911-12-07The Pickens Sentinel3,495 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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Pleasant View3.6 miles17
Cedar Rock3.6 miles17
Hillwood4.0 miles17
Crow Creek4.3 miles16
Arial4.3 miles17
Midway4.5 miles17
Monte Vista5.1 miles16
Terrapin Crossroads5.2 miles16

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 PickensAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1864258The 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 1250078. 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.