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Williston, South Carolina

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1923 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Williston census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29853. The Survey maps it on the Williston quadrangle. 2,877 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 354 feet above sea level.

Williston within Barnwell County

On record in Williston

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

Williston fell from 3,307 to 2,877 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
20003,307
20103,139-168 (-5%)
20202,877-262 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 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

214 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 214 fires within 5 miles of Williston between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,248 acres in total. 11 started naturally. 11 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 burning93
Missing data/not specified/undetermined68
Equipment and vehicle use16
Arson/incendiarism11
Natural11
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Smoking2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Other causes2
Recreation and ceremony1

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
6 September 1999Debris and open burning5.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2001Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
26 September 2019Debris and open burning4.7 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
25 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
23 September 2011Naturalunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
14 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
1 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Barnwell County

Storms near this place

47 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Williston in 47 storm reports between 1997 and 2023: 28 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 3 tornado, 1 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
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWilliston$12,000Williston City Police had multiple reports of trees and powerlines down including Janet Street. Dime size hail also occurred.
September 2000Thunderstorm WindWilliston$7,000Sheriff reported trees down in Williston, one fell onto a liquor store.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindWilliston$4,000Utility Company reported some outages due to large limbs on lines near the town of Williston.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindWilliston$3,000Augusta TV station reported trees down in Williston.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindWilliston$3,000Savannah River Site reported trees down near the Williston barricade.
April 1999Tornado (F1)Williston$3,000KC4JMV and damage survey confirmed an F1 tornado took down numerous trees and powerlines along a 2 mile path. Minor damage was also done to a home.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindWilliston$2,000Sheriff reported trees down on Moonlight road in Williston.
June 2013FloodWilliston$1,000Local police reported minor flooding in the town of Williston.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindWilliston$1,000Sheriff reported a tree and large limbs down on Patterson Road. Penny size hail also occurred in the same area.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Numerous trees were downed in the Williston area. Time estimated.
April 2020Tornado (EF1)Williston-A strong, long-track tornado began in Aiken Co SC, within the boundaries of the Savannah River Site, then moved in a general northeast direction. While in Aiken Co, the tornado was rated EF-3. The tornado then crossed into Barnwell Co SC, NW of the town of Williston near Davis Bridge Rd. In Barnwell Co, the tornado was rated as EF-1. The tornado continued to snap and uproot countless trees as it crossed Davis Bridge Rd, and New Forest Rd in N Barnwell Co. The tornado continued moving NE and crossed into Orangeburg Co SC.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Trees down on Springfield Rd and Elko St. Time estimated.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Trees down in roadway Fellowship Rd at Moonlight Rd. Time estimated.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Power lines down on US Hwy 278 near Hwy 39.
June 2013HailWilliston-Williston police reported 3/4 inch hail downtown.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Sheriff's Dispatch reported trees down in Williston.
June 2011HailWilliston-Sheriff's Dispatch reported dime to quarter size hail in Williston.
June 2009HailWilliston-Public reported quarter size hail.
July 2008HailWilliston-Nickel size hail reported by law enforcement in Williston.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Spotter reported multiple trees down in the town of Williston.
March 2008HailWilliston-Sheriff reported golf ball size hail between Blackville and Williston on hwy 78.
March 2008Tornado (EF0)Williston-Survey found a brief touchdown along hwy 78.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWilliston-EM reported trees down in Williston on two homes doing minor damage.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Utility company reported trees down on line
October 2006HailWilliston-Sheriff and Williston police reported pea to penny size hail in and around Williston.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Pilot reported numerous trees and powerlines down from Williston to Blackville.
May 2005HailWilliston-Public called in a report of quarter size hail.
June 2004HailWilliston-WAGT TV reported penny size hail in Williston.
December 2004HailWilliston-Emergency Manager reported dime size hail in Williston.
March 2003Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Sheriff reported trees down on powerlines on hwy 39.
March 2003HailWilliston-Public called and reported dime size hail near Williston.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Several trees down on hwy 78.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Williston police reported trees down near Elko.
July 2002HailWilliston-Public reported nickel size hail near Williston
July 2002Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Newspaper reported several large trees down in Williston.
July 2002HailWilliston-Newspaper reported quarter size hail in the Williston area.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Sheriff reported trees down in the Williston area.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Highway Maint. dept reported several trees down in the Williston area.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Sheriff reported trees down.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindWilliston-HWY DEPT reported trees down on hwy 39.
April 1999HailWilliston-County EOC reported golf ball size hail along path of supercell.
July 1999HailWilliston-Sheriff reported 3/4 inch hail.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Utility company reported trees and powerlines down on highways 78 and 781.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindWilliston-Sheriff reported trees down on highway 13.
April 1998HailWilliston-Sheriff reports one inch hail.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWilliston-no account filed
April 1997Thunderstorm WindWilliston-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Barnwell 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
Elko2.6 miles16
Reynold5.4 miles16
Farrells Mill5.7 miles16
Long Branch5.8 miles16
Walker6.3 miles15
Whaley7.0 miles15
Healing Springs7.8 miles15
Blackville8.5 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 WillistonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1942709The 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 1227623. 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.