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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.

West Columbia within Lexington County

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

Population over time

2 figures

West 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.

YearPeople Change
201014,988
202017,416+2,428 (+16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 13 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

230 since 1992

Regional 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/undetermined102
Misuse of fire by a minor56
Arson/incendiarism20
Debris and open burning14
Equipment and vehicle use11
Recreation and ceremony9
Railroad operations and maintenance5
Smoking5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Fireworks2
Natural1
Other causes1

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 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
25 September 2019Recreation and ceremony1.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2019Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
23 September 2010Misuse of fire by a minor1.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
5 August 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
31 August 1999Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lexington County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 16 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Cayce QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Cayce Silica PlantSilicaUnknown
Congaree RiverZirconium, Thorium, Titanium, IronUnknownPlacer , Modern , Fluvial
Green HoleStone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Dimension, GranitePast ProducerIgneous
Guignard MillClay, KaolinPast Producer
Westinghouse Elec. Corp--ColumbiaThoriumUnknown
Cayce QuarryGranite, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer1893
Columbia QuarryGranite, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer1883
Brick Plant No. 2ClayPast Producer
Brick Plant No. 4ClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Lexington County

Storms near this place

15 since 1995

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2003LightningWest Columbia$55,000Lightning struck a home setting on fire and destroying it.
February 2011Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia$14,000Public reported roof partially torn off a building and damage to a car.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia$2,000West Columbia police reported powerlines down on several roads.
April 1995HailWest Columbia$2,000no account filed
June 1995HailWest Columbia$1,000no account filed
August 2008Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia-EM reported some trees down on East Steel street.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia-NWS employee reported large limbs down on Mineral Springs road in the Saluda Shoals subdivision.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia-Sheriff reported several trees down at Lexington Hospital on hwy 378.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia-West Columbia police reported numerous trees down.
March 2000HailWest Columbia-Radio and TV stations reported golf ball size hail.
April 1998HailWest Columbia-TV 10 spotter reported golf ball size hail at the Lexington Medical Center near I26 and hwy 378.
April 1998HailWest Columbia-SKYWARN spotter reported 3/4 inch hail at Oak Dr. and U.S.1.
April 1998HailWest Columbia-SKYWARN spotter reported 3/4 inch hail on U.S.1.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia-Sheriff reports trees down.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindWest Columbia-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lexington 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
Park Place West0.5 miles21
Happytown0.7 miles13
Saluda River Estates0.7 miles21
Saluda Gardens0.9 miles21
Westover Acres1.3 miles21
Saluda Terrace1.4 miles21
Westwood Hills1.5 miles21
Cayce1.9 miles13

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 ColumbiaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2374047The 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.