Cayce, South Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cayce, South Carolina
City
City Hall
Seal
Motto(s):  "A new kind of city" "Time of Life"
Cayce, South Carolina Location in South Carolina Show map of South Carolina Cayce, South Carolina Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
Counties	Lexington; Richland
Area
• Total	17.74 sq mi (45.95 km2)
• Land	16.88 sq mi (43.72 km2)
• Water	0.86 sq mi (2.23 km2)
Elevation	233 ft (71 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	13,781
• Density	816.36/sq mi (315.21/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code	29033, 29169, 29170, 29171, 29172
Area code(s)	803, 839
FIPS code	45-12655
GNIS feature ID	1247197

Cayce (/ˈkeɪsi/ KAY-see) is a city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, along the Congaree River. The population was 12,528 at the 2010 census and rose to 13,789 in the 2020 United States Census, and it is the third-most populated municipality in Lexington County. The city is primarily in Lexington County, with additional, predominantly rural land to the east in Richland County. Cayce is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area and is within South Carolina's Midlands region.

History

What was to become Cayce was home to Native Americans for at least 12,000 years. This includes what are now known as the Manning Archeological Site, the SAM Site, and the Taylor Site.

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the area in 1540, encountering a large Native village at Congaree Creek, where Cayce now stands. Near the end of the 17th century, the explorer John Lawson visited and documented his trip. In 1718, during the colonial period, the English built the first permanent fort, the first structure built in the Midlands. A second fort was built on the river in 1748. These were referred to as Congaree Fort #1 and Congaree Fort #2 and became part of the Congarees Site in 1974.

One of the kilns from the Guignard Brick Works, established in 1803

The Guignard Brick Works were established on the west bank of the Congaree in 1803 and remained active for nearly two centuries.

The town includes the area that was once Granby, at one time the county seat and a flourishing community before it was abandoned by the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

The town was incorporated in 1914 and named for local businessman William J. Cayce.

In December 2007, the city council voted to annex a 3,100-acre (13 km²) floodplain in Richland County. Prior to this annexation, Cayce was entirely situated within Lexington County. The city planned to develop the annexed area, but after significant evaluations the city abandoned the project after determining that development was not suitable in the flood-prone area, leaving Cayce with a sizeable piece of sparely-populated land.

The city of Columbia as seen from Cayce, over the Congaree River

Geography

Still Hopes, built in 1910

Cayce is in eastern Lexington County and western Richland County, with the traditional center of town on the west side of the Congaree River at 33°58'29" north, 81°3'6" west. The Congaree divides the city from the state capital, Columbia, to the northeast. Cayce is also bordered by the city of West Columbia to the north, the town of Springdale to the northwest, and the town of Pine Ridge to the southwest.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.6 square miles (45.5 km²), of which 16.8 square miles (43.5 km²) are land and 0.77 square miles (2.0 km²), or 4.38%, are water.

Attractions

Exhibit of the Cayce Historical Museum

Cayce has several hiking trails throughout the city. All of its public attractions, with the exception of the Cayce Historical Museum, are free of charge.

• The Cayce Riverwalk, sometimes referred to as the Cayce/West Columbia River walk, is a paved, 12-mile (19 km) hiking and biking trail along the Congaree River. The Riverwalk has four segments with several access points and provides historical markers along the pathway. The park sometimes floods when the Congaree River exceeds flood stage.
• The 12,000-year-old park is built upon land that the city states has not changed much in the past 12,000 years.
• The Timmerman Trail is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) hiking and biking trail through the woods. The trail is maintained by SCANA and is located near the company's headquarters. The trail is named after the pro-segregationist former governor of South Carolina, George Bell Timmerman Jr.
• The Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve has a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) hiking trail through the woods along Congaree Creek.
• Cayce Historical Museum, located at the city's municipal complex, includes Native American, colonial, Revolutionary War and Civil War artifacts.
• The Guignard Brick Works were established by the Guignard family in 1801. The complex, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes four brick beehive kilns, a historic brick office, and remnants of other industrial features of the brick works.

Economy

Knox Abbott Drive in Cayce

A corn field in the rural Richland County portion of the city

Cayce is the home of Dominion Energy South Carolina, a subsidiary company of Dominion Energy, which purchased SCANA following the nukegate scandal. Prior to this acquisition, SCANA was headquartered in Cayce. Dominion Energy employs over 17,000 people in 15 states, providing energy to nearly 7 million customers.

Transportation

Public transportation

Bus system

Public transportation in Cayce is provided by the COMET, or officially the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (CMRTA). The bus system has several routes in Cayce and is the main public transit system for the greater Columbia area.

Columbia Metropolitan Airport

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport (IATA:CAE) serves as the main airport system for the greater Columbia area, and is just west of the Cayce city limits. In 2018, the airport served 1,197,603 passengers with 12,324 flights. The airport is the regional hub for UPS Airlines, transporting 136.7 million pounds of freight/mail in 2018. The airport was originally named "Lexington County Airport" and during World War II trained pilots for B-25 Mitchell crews.

Highways, roadways, and railways

• I-26 - Interstate 26 passes through the western side of Cayce and connects the Columbia area to the other two major population centers of South Carolina: the Greenville-Spartanburg area to the northwest and the Charleston area to the southeast.
• I-77 - Interstate 77 has its southern terminus in Cayce at I-26 and ends in Cleveland, Ohio. It is frequently used by travelers on the east coast of the United States heading to or from Florida.
• US-321 - U.S. Route 321 passes through the western and northern sides of Cayce. It leads east across the Congaree River into downtown Columbia, then continues north toward Gastonia, North Carolina, while to the south it leads to the Savannah, Georgia, area.
• SC-2 - South Carolina Highway 2 passes through the center of Cayce on State Street and Frink Street.
• The Columbia Subdivision, a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation, passes through Cayce; it was the site of a deadly train collision in February 2018.

Education

The Cayce-West Columbia branch of the Lexington County Public Library serves the cities of Cayce and West Columbia.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,781 people, 6,017 households, and 2,794 families residing in the city.

See also

In Spanish: Cayce (Carolina del Sur) para niños