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Varnville, South Carolina

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Hampton-Varnville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29944. The Survey maps it on the Hampton quadrangle. 1,669 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 108 feet above sea level.

Varnville within Hampton County

On record in Varnville

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

3 figures

Varnville fell from 2,074 to 1,669 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
20002,074
20102,162+88 (+4%)
20201,669-493 (-23%)

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

339 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 339 fires within 5 miles of Varnville between 1992 and 2020, burning about 827 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 62 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/undetermined120
Debris and open burning112
Arson/incendiarism62
Equipment and vehicle use19
Natural13
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Recreation and ceremony2
Smoking2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
27 September 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 2012Debris and open burning1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2011Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
6 August 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
6 August 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 2001Natural1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hampton County

Storms near this place

34 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Varnville in 34 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 24 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 tornado, 2 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
August 2011Thunderstorm WindVarnville$4,000Broadcast media reported trees down on Highway 278 and Highway 68 near Varnville.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindVarnville$4,000A county official reported numerous trees down along Yemassee Highway and Walterboro Highway.
November 2006Thunderstorm WindVarnville$2,000Numerous Trees and Power lines down. Scattered power outages.
July 2013Flash FloodVarnville$1,000Maple Street, Main Street and several others were flooded and closed.
March 2013Thunderstorm WindVarnville$1,000The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down near the intersection of Highway 68 and Highway 278.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindVarnville$1,000Law enforcement reported a tree down on Millpond Road.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindVarnville$1,000Shingles and tin blown off roofs.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindVarnville-The Hampton County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on Highway 68 near the intersection with Grays Highway.
April 2022Tornado (EF0)Varnville-A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team confirmed an EF-0 tornado with an estimated maximum wind speed of 82 mph in Hampton County, South Carolina. The weak tornado initially touched down just west of Pepper Street, then tracked northeast across U.S. 278, snapping and uprooting trees and causing minor roof damage to one home near the intersection of Oak Street and Howard Street. The tornado then continued a northeast path across a mostly wooded area, where it snapped and uprooted trees, before ending in an open field just east of the intersection of Papas Road and Mill Pond Road, where it snapped and uprooted a few more trees, overturned utility trailers, and threw a small grain bin.
May 2022HailVarnville-A trained spotter reported quarter sized hail at the North District Middle School that lasted for about 5 minutes.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Hampton County dispatch reported two trees down. One tree was down near Roberts Street and another tree was down on Yemassee Highway near Almeda.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindVarnville-South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down near the intersection of Kerrison Street and Marion Street.
June 2022HailVarnville-A report via social media indicated golf ball size hail near the intersection of Highway 278 and Highway 68.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindVarnville-A report received via social media indicated multiple trees down on Highway 278 near Varnville.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Law Enforcement reported a tree down near the intersection of Pocotaligo Road and Highway 278.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Two trees were reported down near Varnille and Hampton, South Carolina. The first tree was reported down on Hickory Hill Road between Pocotaligo Road and Two Sisters Road. The second tree was reported down on 3rd Street Northeast.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindVarnville-The Hampton County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on Highway 278 between Almeda and Pocotaligo Road.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindVarnville-The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down at Taylor Street off Carolina Avenue.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Law enforcement reported a tree down across Mill Pond Road.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindVarnville-South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down at the intersection of Yemassee Highway and Chanel Drive.
November 2014Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Hampton County warning point reported a tree blown down on Hickory Hill Road in Varnville.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindVarnville-The South Carolina Highway Patrol reported several trees down in the Varnville Area.
April 2013HailVarnville-Broadcast Media reported hail 3/4 inch hail in Varnville.
July 2013Flash FloodVarnville-Dennis Blvd was reported closed due to flash flooding.
May 2008Tornado (EF0)Varnville-A trained weather spotter reported a weak rope Tornado near Almeda, South Carolina. The Tornado was seen in contact with the ground for approximately 2 minutes. No damage resulted from the weak Tornado.
November 2004Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and power lines along Highway 278.
February 2003Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Several trees and power lines were down.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Numerous trees were down in and around the town.
March 2001Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Several trees down.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Trees and powerline down.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindVarnville-Trees and powerlines down.
July 2006HailVarnville-no account filed
April 2005HailVarnville-no account filed
August 1997HailVarnville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hampton 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
Hickory Hill (historical)1.9 miles16
Almeda2.1 miles16
Hampton3.2 miles16
Camp Branch4.1 miles16
Crocketville4.6 miles16
Pond Town5.5 miles16
Halls Mill6.1 miles16
Speaks Mill6.3 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 VarnvilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3239747The 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 1251290. 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.

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.