Seneca, South Carolina
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Seneca census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29678. The Survey maps it on the Seneca quadrangle. 8,850 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 965 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Seneca
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 8 records
Alexander-Hill Houselisted 1972
Faith Cabin Library at Seneca Junior Collegelisted 2012
McPhail Angus Farmlisted 2007
Old Pickens Presbyterian Churchlisted 1996
Ram Cat Alley Historic Districtlisted 2000
Seneca Historic Districtlisted 1974- Seneca Cotton Milllisted 2022
- Seneca Historic District (Boundary Increase)listed 1987
Population over time
2 figuresSeneca grew from 8,102 to 8,850 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 | 8,102 | |
| 2020 | 8,850 | +748 (+9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 16 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.
- 1888 USGS Pickens quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Pickens quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1954 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Seneca quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1984 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
160 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 160 fires within 5 miles of Seneca between 1992 and 2020, burning about 385 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 19 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 burning | 57 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 19 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 10 |
| Smoking | 9 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 14 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 14 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 August 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 August 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 August 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1.5 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 12 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 12 workings within 5 miles of Seneca: 6 prospects, 2 unknowns, 2 past producers, 2 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Mica, Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Garnet. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Garnet Prospect | Garnet | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Talc Prospect | Talc-Soapstone | Prospect | ||
| Richland Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | Sedimentary | |
| Richland Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Cochran Mine | Gold | Past Producer | ||
| J B Smith Prospect | Mica | Prospect | ||
| John Dyer Prospect | Mica | Prospect | ||
| Leroy Prospect | Mica | Prospect | ||
| Parker Deposit | Mica | Occurrence | ||
| Sitton Prospect | Gold | Prospect |
Storms near this place
60 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Seneca in 60 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 33 thunderstorm wind, 21 hail, 4 lightning, 1 tornado. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2008 | Lightning | Seneca | $500,000 | Lightning ignited a fire at a large home on Lake Keowee, causing extensive damage. |
| August 2004 | Lightning | Seneca | $80,000 | Lightning ignited fires at 2 homes, causing significant damage to both. |
| March 1993 | Tornado (F0) | Seneca | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | $25,000 | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | $10,000 | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | $5,000 | A 60 foot tree reported on a house with some structural damage in Seneca. Ham radio report of numerous trees down across southern Oconee County. Several roads were closed due to fallen trees. Newspaper reported 600 customers lost power. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | $1,000 | A tree was blown onto a car. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | $1,000 | Several trees and powerlines were blown down. A gust of 51 kts was measured by the ASOS at the Clemson-Oconee County Airport. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Public reported several trees blown down around the Seneca area. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Seneca | - | Public reported (via Social Media) quarter size hail in the Seneca area. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | County comms reported a tree was blown down at the intersection of Campbell Bridge Rd and Wild Fern Rd and another tree down at Bent Tree Dr and Friendship Rd. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Emergency manager reported a few trees blown down in Seneca and vicinity. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Seneca | - | Media reported 3/4 inch hail. |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Media reported multiple trees and power lines blown down on Highway 123 near Seneca. |
| June 2018 | Hail | Seneca | - | Public reported quarter size hail on Walnut St. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Public reported several trees and large limbs blown down along Highway 59 on the south side of Seneca. Spotter reported several large limbs down on the Anderson County border. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Seneca | - | Penny size hail was reported just south of Seneca. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Numerous trees were blown down in and around Seneca. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Several trees down at Oconee Point campground. |
| February 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Trees down on S. Oak St. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Several trees blown down in Seneca, some on vehicles. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Two ultralights and an outbuilding damaged at Tokeena Air Park. Also, several large oak trees were blown down in the area. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Seneca | - | Golfball size hail reported near Lake Keowee. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Shingles blown off a roof and a tree blown down. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Quite a few trees down in locations around Seneca and to the southeast of town. |
| June 2004 | Flash Flood | Seneca | - | A creek overflowed its banks, flooding Meadowbrook Rd as well as numerous yards. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Wind equipment at the Clemson-Oconee County Airport measured a wind gust of 79 mph. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Some trees were blown down. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Several trees were blown down. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Numerous trees were blown down, some across roads. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | Large trees, up to 30 inches in diameter and 40 feet tall, were blown down. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | A large tree was blown across cars at the police station motor pool, causing a significant amount of damage to employees' cars. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Lightning | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| January 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Lightning | Seneca | - | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | Seneca | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeview Heights | 1.1 miles | 16 | |
| Cove Inlet | 1.2 miles | 16 | |
| Woodburn | 1.2 miles | 16 | |
| Walnut Grove | 1.2 miles | 16 | |
| Utica | 1.3 miles | 16 | |
| Bishop Heights | 1.3 miles | 16 | |
| White Oak Cliffs | 1.4 miles | 16 | |
| Loran Point | 1.4 miles | 16 |
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 Seneca | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2679162 | 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 1250833. 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.






