West Columbia, South Carolina
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the West Columbia-Cayce census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29169. It stands on Saluda River. The Survey maps it on the Southwest Columbia quadrangle. 17,416 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 285 feet above sea level.
On record in West Columbia
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 5 records
Colonial-Hites Companylisted 2018
Gervais Street Bridgelisted 1980
Mount Hebron Temperance Halllisted 1980
New Brookland Historic Districtlisted 1978- Saluda Factory Historic Districtlisted 1973
Population over time
2 figuresWest Columbia grew from 14,988 to 17,416 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 | 14,988 | |
| 2020 | 17,416 | +2,428 (+16%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 13 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.
- 1944 USGS Edmund quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Southwest Columbia quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1983 USGS Aiken quadrangle1:100000
- 1994 USGS Southwest Columbia quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
230 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 230 fires within 5 miles of West Columbia between 1992 and 2020, burning about 506 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 20 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 | 102 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 56 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 20 |
| Debris and open burning | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 5 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 25 September 2019 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.5 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 24 September 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 23 September 2010 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.5 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 August 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 31 August 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 16 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of West Columbia: 7 past producers, 6 producers, 3 unknowns. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Zirconium, Thorium, Titanium, Iron, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayce Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Cayce Silica Plant | Silica | Unknown | ||
| Congaree River | Zirconium, Thorium, Titanium, Iron | Unknown | Placer , Modern , Fluvial | |
| Green Hole | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Dimension, Granite | Past Producer | Igneous | |
| Guignard Mill | Clay, Kaolin | Past Producer | ||
| Westinghouse Elec. Corp--Columbia | Thorium | Unknown | ||
| Cayce Quarry | Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | 1893 | |
| Columbia Quarry | Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | 1883 | |
| Brick Plant No. 2 | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Brick Plant No. 4 | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
15 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Columbia in 15 storm reports between 1995 and 2011: 8 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2003 | Lightning | West Columbia | $55,000 | Lightning struck a home setting on fire and destroying it. |
| February 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | $14,000 | Public reported roof partially torn off a building and damage to a car. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | $2,000 | West Columbia police reported powerlines down on several roads. |
| April 1995 | Hail | West Columbia | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Hail | West Columbia | $1,000 | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | - | EM reported some trees down on East Steel street. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | - | NWS employee reported large limbs down on Mineral Springs road in the Saluda Shoals subdivision. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | - | Sheriff reported several trees down at Lexington Hospital on hwy 378. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | - | West Columbia police reported numerous trees down. |
| March 2000 | Hail | West Columbia | - | Radio and TV stations reported golf ball size hail. |
| April 1998 | Hail | West Columbia | - | TV 10 spotter reported golf ball size hail at the Lexington Medical Center near I26 and hwy 378. |
| April 1998 | Hail | West Columbia | - | SKYWARN spotter reported 3/4 inch hail at Oak Dr. and U.S.1. |
| April 1998 | Hail | West Columbia | - | SKYWARN spotter reported 3/4 inch hail on U.S.1. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | - | Sheriff reports trees down. |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Columbia | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park Place West | 0.5 miles | 21 | |
| Happytown | 0.7 miles | 13 | |
| Saluda River Estates | 0.7 miles | 21 | |
| Saluda Gardens | 0.9 miles | 21 | |
| Westover Acres | 1.3 miles | 21 | |
| Saluda Terrace | 1.4 miles | 21 | |
| Westwood Hills | 1.5 miles | 21 | |
| Cayce | 1.9 miles | 13 |
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 West Columbia | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2374047 | 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 1251380. 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.








