Clemson, South Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clemson
City
Top, left to right: Tillman Hall (near Clemson City), Hanover House, Fort Hill, Memorial Stadium, College Avenue
Seal
Nickname(s):  South Knoxville
Motto(s):  "In season, every season."
Location of Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson Location in South Carolina Show map of South Carolina Clemson Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
Counties	Pickens, Anderson
Area
• City	8.15 sq mi (21.11 km2)
• Land	7.69 sq mi (19.92 km2)
• Water	0.46 sq mi (1.19 km2)
Elevation	725 ft (221 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	17,681
• Density	2,298.62/sq mi (887.54/km2)
• Urban	118,369 (US: 286th)
• Urban density	1,233.8/sq mi (476.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	29631-29634
Area codes	864, 821
FIPS code	45-14950
GNIS feature ID	1247312

Clemson (/ˈklɛmpsən, ˈklɛmzən/) is a city in Pickens and Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, and is identified with it. In 2015, the Princeton Review cited the town of Clemson as ranking #1 in the United States for "town-and-gown" relations with its resident university. The population of the city was 17,681 at the 2020 census.

Clemson is part of the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area.

History

Fort Hill, photographed in 1887, was the home of Thomas Green Clemson and his wife Anna Maria Calhoun, who inherited it from her mother. He carried out Anna Maria's wish to found an agricultural college here but was credited as founder.

European Americans settled here after the Cherokee were forced to cede their land in 1819. They had lived at Keowee, and six other towns along the Keowee River as part of their traditional homelands in the Southeast. They migrated and settled in Tennessee and deeper into Georgia and Alabama, before most were subjected to forced Indian Removal in 1839 to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

The community was originally named Calhoun. Clemson University, founded in 1889 and located adjacent to Clemson, has developed as a large public university that defines the town and serves as a cultural center. Its campus developed south of the original town. This was renamed as Clemson in 1943, reflecting its identification with the university. A small, multi-block downtown has some housing, retail and restaurants.

The university provides housing for students, but many students live off campus in a wide variety of apartment complexes. Outside the downtown, there are few paved sidewalks, but some streets have bike paths. The city's comprehensive plan has a historic preservation component to apply to keep a range of structures in the area.

The Clemson (train) Depot, built in 1893, was renovated in 2001; it now houses the local chamber of commerce and visitor center. The station was temporarily closed in 2016 for a road project, but was reopened in 2019. U.S. Route 123 runs along the northern end of the city and its edges have been developed with typical suburban-style shopping centers.

Development of Clemson College/University

Clemson University was founded as an agricultural college starting in 1889, on the former Fort Hill Plantation of statesman John C. Calhoun, which he had acquired by marriage. The plantation was originally owned by his mother-in-law, mother of his wife Floride. Floride Calhoun inherited the property after her mother's death in 1836 but, under South Carolina law, she likely lost any individual rights to it because of her marriage.

In the meantime, Floride and John C. Calhoun had a daughter named Anna Maria. At age 21, she married Thomas Green Clemson. After her father John C. Calhoun died in 1850; his widow Floride Calhoun gained total ownership of Fort Hill Plantation.

Because Anna Maria was the only living child, she inherited a part of Fort Hill when Floride died in 1866. Anna Maria bequeathed Thomas G. Clemson a portion of the property in her will. When Anna Maria died in 1875, he inherited the plantation. He knew that Anna Maria had wanted the land to be used as the site of an agricultural college, so Thomas Green Clemson bequeathed land for such a college in his will. After his death in 1888, what developed as Clemson University was founded on that land.

Geography

Aerial view of Clemson. Clemson University is on the left.

Clemson is located at 34°41′6″N 82°48′53″W / 34.68500°N 82.81472°W / 34.68500; -82.81472 (34.684930, −82.814777) approximately 27 miles (43 km) west of downtown Greenville and 15 miles (24 km) north of Anderson. The city is situated near the northwestern corner of South Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains while also on the shores of Lake Hartwell.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 7.9 square miles (20.5 km²), of which 7.5 square miles (19.3 km²) is land and 0.46 square miles (1.2 km²), or 5.85%, is water.

Climate

Typical of the Upstate, Clemson has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen) characterized by hot, humid summers and cool winters. Precipitation is ample through the year, although it reaches a maximum in August and February; snowfall is typically sporadic with a normal seasonal (December through March) total accumulation of 2.2 in (5.6 cm).

National Register of Historical Places

The following places and buildings in Clemson City are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

• J. C. Stribling Barn
• Old Stone Church and Cemetery

Places on the Clemson University campus on the NRHP:

• Clemson University Historic District I and II
• Clemson College Sheep Barn
• Fort Hill (John C. Calhoun Mansion and Library)
• Hanover House

Other places with Clemson addresses:

• Hopewell Plantation - Gen. Andrew Pickens' Home

• 

  J. C. Stribling Barn (Clemson City)

• 

  Old Stone Church and Cemetery (Clemson City)

• 

  Clemson College Sheep Barn

• 

  Bowman Field and Sikes Hall of the Clemson University Historic District I

• 

  Hanover House (Clemson University)

• 

  Amphitheater of the Clemson University Historic District II

Attractions

Clemson University is home to South Carolina Botanical Garden, Fort Hill Plantation and Bob Campbell Geology Museum. Lake Hartwell, a reservoir, is a popular recreation area that borders the city on the west. The Blue Ridge Mountains are just 30 miles (48 km) from the city center.

• 

  South Carolina Botanical Garden

• 

  Fort Hill

• 

  Lake Hartwell

Demographics

Tillman Hall at Clemson University in 2008

2010 census

The 2010 census shows Clemson's population rose to 14,089 in 2012, showing an increase of 0.9% over two years and three months (from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2012). The population in 2010 consisted of 5,823 households with an average of 2.33 people living in each household. This household quantity includes 2,474 family households, 932 of which had children younger than 18. 37% of these households were married couples, 2.3% male householder with no wife present and 3.2% female householders with no husband present. The rest of these households were composed of non-family households (57.5%) and householders living along (31.3%).

The city of Clemson had a population density of 1,869 persons per square mile. The number of housing units in the city was 6,925. The overall racial distribution of the city was 78.4% white, 8.9% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 8.3% Asian, and 2.2% Hispanic or Latino. The age distribution for Clemson is as follows: 4.1% under the age of 5 years, 3.3% 5–9 years, 4.4% 10–14 years, 4.3% 15–19 years, 32.6% 20–24 years, 14% 25–34 years, 8.8% 35–44 years, 8.8% 45–54, and 19.7% older than 55.

The median household income was $29,828 and the median family income was $77,704. The median earnings for a male worker (full-time) was $42,597, compared to the median earnings for a female worker (full-time), which was $32,524. The city of Clemson had a per capita income of about $23,906. 17.6% of the population was below the poverty line, 13.2% of that total being families.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,681 people, 6,751 households, and 2,571 families residing in the city.

Transportation

Clemson Area Transit

Clemson Area Transit (CAT) is a free transportation service that offers fare free service throughout the Clemson, Anderson, Pendleton and Seneca areas. All CAT buses are made accessible for patrons with disabilities and can accommodate any special needs. The CAT buses also provide transfer services to the local Electric City Transit bus in Anderson. Riders can receive vouchers from CAT bus operators in order to continue their ride fare-free on the Anderson shuttles.

The city of Clemson has an Amtrak station at the corner of Calhoun Memorial Highway and College Avenue. The Crescent Route travels from New Orleans to New York City and stops through the Clemson station (CSN).

The Clemson area is near three major airports. The closest, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, is 45 minutes away in Greenville, South Carolina. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is two and a half hours away in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT) is two and a half hours away, as well, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Many different services provide transportation to and from the airport from the Clemson area, including The Airport Shuttle, Anderson/Clemson Shuttle Service, Yellow Cab and Andrews Airport Services.

Education

K-12 education

The portion of Clemson within Pickens County is in the Pickens County School District, which covers the entire county. Students living in the city of Clemson attend Clemson Elementary School, RC Edwards Middle School and D.W. Daniel High School.

Clemson Elementary School was originally called the Calhoun-Clemson School and was on College Avenue. In 1964, the school burned down, destroying everything but the cafeteria, and the newer first and second grade wing, a separate building. The school was rebuilt on Frontage Road and was named Margaret Morrison Elementary School. The once segregated Calhoun Colored School was renamed Morrison annex and was used to house the primary grades and self-contained resource students. After the schools had outgrown their buildings, construction began in 1999 on a new school building on Berkeley Drive. This is now the site of the current Clemson Elementary. Clemson Elementary colors are orange and blue, and its mascot is the tiger cub.

RC Edwards was built and opened in 1971, and named for the President of Clemson University. It currently educates sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. The campus is located in Central, and has about 800 students. Its colors are purple and white, and the mascot is the panther.

The current D.W. Daniel High School was constructed in 2010 and had its first class enter the doors for the 2012–2013 school year. The school is named after David Wistar Daniel, a professor at Clemson College, who was invested in the public school system and spent many years on the South Carolina Board of Education. It recently was named one of the best regular public schools in the state by US News magazine. Its colors are blue and gold, and the mascot is the lion. The school is well known for its football team. In the 2013–2014 season, the team ended the year 14 wins to one loss, which occurred in the 3A State Championship against Myrtle Beach High School.

The portion of Clemson in Anderson County is in Anderson School District 4.

Colleges and universities

Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, and is identified with it; in 2015, the Princeton Review cited the town of Clemson as ranking #1 in the United States for "town-and-gown" relations with its resident university.

As the university is not in the City of Clemson corporate limits, the university does not have to abide by City of Clemson municipal ordinances nor receive permission to do any undertaking from the City of Clemson. The South Carolina General Assembly designated Clemson University as a "municipal corporation" in 1894.

In 2019, Mollie R. Simon of the Greenville News wrote that the growth of the university has caused a disruption in the relationship between the municipal government and the university.

See also

In Spanish: Clemson (Carolina del Sur) para niños