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Plum Branch, South Carolina

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Parksville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29845. The Survey maps it on the Plum Branch quadrangle. 72 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 459 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Plum Branch within McCormick County

On record in Plum Branch

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

Population over time

2 figures

Plum Branch fell from 82 to 72 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.

YearPeople Change
201082
202072-10 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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.

Fires near this place

140 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 140 fires within 5 miles of Plum Branch between 1992 and 2020, burning about 515 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 6 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/undetermined76
Debris and open burning29
Equipment and vehicle use11
Arson/incendiarism6
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Recreation and ceremony4
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Smoking3
Natural2

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 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1997Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2017Debris and open burning1.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
25 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2016Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
21 September 2019Smoking3.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
17 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McCormick County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Plum Branch: 7 past producers, 2 unknowns, 1 prospect, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Barium-Barite, Copper, Barium-Barite, Gold. 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
Abernathy and Kehaya/Dorn MineManganesePast Producer1942
Barite HillGold, Barium-Barite, Copper, Silver, Lead, ZincPast ProducerPyrite, Gold, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite
Butler ProspectBarium-Barite, Gold, Zinc, CopperPast Producer1860
Jennings MineGold, CopperUnknown1860
Plum Branch QuarryStoneUnknownMetamorphic
Self MineGold, Barium-BaritePast Producer1860
Barite HillGoldPast Producer1984, 1991
Butler ProspectGoldOccurrence
Jennings ProspectGoldProspect
Searl's Mine Or Searles MineGoldPast Producer1860

Every working recorded in McCormick County

Storms near this place

31 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Plum Branch in 31 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 23 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 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
May 2010Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch$38,000McCormick Messenger reported many trees and powerlines were taken down in the lower half of the county. A couple of trees fell on a carport damaging a vehicle.
July 2012HailPlum Branch$15,000Sheriff reported golfball size hail.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch$10,000Sheriff reported trees down in the Plum Branch area. The McCormick Messenger Newspaper also reported a boat shed destroyed on Landam Creek Road in Plum Branch.
March 2012Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch$4,000Dispatch reported a couple of trees down on Hwy 221.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch$1,000Public reported a couple of trees down on SR 283 near Upper Miller road.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Multiple trees down along Harmony Road, New Hope Road, and Whitetown Road in Plum Branch. Time estimated via radar.
August 2025Flash FloodPlum Branch-Emergency Manager reported roadway closure due to flooding on Whitetown Rd at Stevens Creek which overflowed its banks. New Hope Rd just south of Whitetown Rd was also closed due to flooding.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Report and photo, observed on social media, showed a pine tree down on a vehicle in Hawe Creek Campground, site number 30. Damage to the vehicle appeared minor. | Time estimated.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-A tree was downed at Hwy 28 S and Ga Ln, just south of Plum Branch. Time estimated.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-A tree fell onto a house on Hwy 283 east of Plum Branch, trapping one person inside, who was rescued and not injured. Time estimated.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Trees reported down near Plum Branch. Time estimated.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Tree down across roadway near the intersection of Liberty Hill Rd and Harmony Rd.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Tree fell along Upper Mill Rd, blocking the roadway.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Tree down across Whitetown Rd near Stevens Creek, blocking the roadway.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-A tree and power lines fell along Lethe Rd.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-WJBF in Augusta reported thunderstorm wind damage near Plum Branch Yacht Club. Trees were downed and a dock off of Split Oak Rd was damaged. Time estimated.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-McCormick Co dispatch reported trees down at 284 Old Augusta Rd near Plum Branch. Time estimated.
March 2020HailPlum Branch-Photo submitted over social media showed quarter size hail near Plum Branch.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Trees fell on power lines near Hwy 283 and Upper Mill Rd, causing a power outage.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-McCormick dispatch reported power lines down on Holiday Rd. Time estimated.
July 2012HailPlum Branch-Public reported quarter size hail on Saddle Club Road.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Sheriff dispatch reported trees down along Troy West Rd.
May 2008HailPlum Branch-Public reported quarter size hail.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-DOT reported several trees down on hwy 202 near Plum Branch.
January 2005HailPlum Branch-Emergency Managers assistant reported brief 1 inch hail in Plum Branch.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Sheriff reported trees down in Plum Branch and Clarks Hill.
January 2001Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Post Office reported trees down between Plum Branch and Parksville on highway 28.
June 2001HailPlum Branch-Sheriff reported 1 inch hail in the Plum Branch area.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Sheriff reported trees and powerlines down on hwys 283 and 21. Confirmed by spotter.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindPlum Branch-Sheriff reported trees down.
April 1997HailPlum Branch-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McCormick 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
Parks Mill1.8 miles16
Whitetown2.8 miles16
McCormick4.8 miles16
Parksville4.8 miles16
Dornville (historical)4.9 miles16
Cedar Hill5.7 miles16
Bethany (historical)5.8 miles16
Liberty Hill6.6 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 Plum BranchAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2758106The 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 1230184. 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.