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Easley
Top, left to right: Downtown Easley, Norfolk Southern Railway, Easley Mill, Easley water tower, Easley City Hall
Top, left to right: Downtown Easley, Norfolk Southern Railway, Easley Mill, Easley water tower, Easley City Hall
Official seal of Easley
Seal
Motto(s): 
"Time Well Spent"
Easley, South Carolina is located in South Carolina
Easley, South Carolina
Easley, South Carolina
Location in South Carolina
Country  United States
State  South Carolina
Counties Pickens, partially Anderson
Established 1874
Incorporated 1901
Area
 • Total 13.07 sq mi (33.86 km2)
 • Land 13.05 sq mi (33.80 km2)
 • Water 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation
1,063 ft (324 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 22,921
 • Density 1,756.26/sq mi (678.11/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
29640-29642
Area code(s) 864
FIPS code 45-21985
GNIS feature ID 1247594

Easley is a city in Pickens County (with parts extending into Anderson County) in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with a small portion of the city in Anderson County.

In 2001, Easley hosted the Big League World Series for the first time, and continued to host the tournament annually until it was disbanded in 2016. In 2017, the Senior League World Series moved to Easley as the host for the annual tournament. The Upper South Carolina State Fair is located in Easley and is held annually in early September.

History

EasleySC1900s
Downtown Easley in early 1900s.

In 1791, Washington District was established by the state legislature out of the former Cherokee territory. Rockville was also created in 1791 but changed to Pickensville in 1792. Pickensville became the district seat of Washington District which was then composed of Greenville and Pendleton Counties. In 1798, Washington District was divided into Greenville and Pendleton Districts. In 1828, Pendleton District was divided further with the lower portion becoming Anderson County and the upper becoming Pickens County named after Andrew Pickens.

Col. Robert Elliott Holcombe became a co-founder of the town by starting off as a farmer and timber mill owner in the area. His farming ventures enabled him to establish the storeroom in 1845 as the first business in the area. The namesake of the town was William King Easley. Easley was born in Pickens County, South Carolina in 1825. Easley and four others from Greenville represented the Greenville area in the South Carolina Secession Convention. When the American Civil War erupted, Easley raised a company of cavalry from Greenville and Pickens counties. During the war, Easley served as a major in the Confederate Army.

After the civil war, Easley became a local attorney and persuaded the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway to be established through Pickensville by raising $100,000 to invest in the railroad. Holcombe was considered to be the first citizen of Easley, building the first dwelling and train depot in the town from his family's lumber mill. Holcombe became the first mayor of the town and was also the first agent of the train depot. The town of Easley was chartered in 1873. At the time, the consensus was that it should be named Holcombe or Holcombetown, but Col. Holcombe said that he didn't think Holcombe was a very attractive name and that Easley sounded better. The Pickensville Post Office became Easley Post Office in 1875. The railroad transformed Easley into an industrious and thriving textile town. The Easley Textile Company, later known as Swirl Inc., came to Easley in 1953. The construction of U.S. Route 123 helped establish retail and new business in Easley. On April 25, 1951, a department store was on fire threatening many buildings in downtown Easley but the quick response of the fire department extinguished the fire.

In 1968, NASCAR driver Curtis Turner caused a telephone outage in Easley while landing his airplane on the town's main street.

In 2020, longtime fire chief Butch Womack was elected mayor. However, in 2023, Lisa Talbert challenged his reelection, becoming Easley's first female mayor when she defeated him.

Geography

Easley is located in southeastern Pickens County at 34°49′24″N 82°35′25″W / 34.82333°N 82.59028°W / 34.82333; -82.59028 (34.823371, -82.590394), 12 miles (19 km) west of the center of Greenville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.3 square miles (31.8 km2), of which 12.2 square miles (31.7 km2) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.17%, is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 327
1890 421 28.7%
1900 903 114.5%
1910 2,983 230.3%
1920 3,568 19.6%
1930 4,886 36.9%
1940 5,183 6.1%
1950 6,316 21.9%
1960 8,283 31.1%
1970 11,175 34.9%
1980 14,264 27.6%
1990 15,195 6.5%
2000 17,754 16.8%
2010 19,993 12.6%
2020 22,957 14.8%
2023 (est.) 26,386 32.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Easley racial composition
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 17,340 75.65%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 2,680 11.69%
Native American 32 0.14%
Asian 268 1.17%
Pacific Islander 5 0.02%
Other/Mixed 1,041 4.54%
Hispanic or Latino 1,555 6.78%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,921 people, 8,738 households, and 5,571 families residing in the city.

Military

National Guard

Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 263rd Army Air Missile Defense Command, is based at the Easley National Guard Armory in Easley.

Recruiting

  • U.S. Army Recruiting Substation
  • U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Substation

JROTC

  • Easley High School Navy JROTC Battalion

Awarded Distinguished Unit 20 consecutive years in a row by NJROTC Area 6.

Education

Public school services are provided to Easley by the School District of Pickens County. 7 of their schools provide public education to the children of Easley.

  • Easley High School (Grades: 9–12)
  • R.H. Gettys Middle School (Grades: 6–8)
  • West End Elementary School (Grades: K4-5)
  • Forest Acres Elementary School (Grades:K4-5)
  • East End Elementary School (Grades: K4-5)
  • Crosswell Elementary School (Grades: K4-5)
  • McKissick Elementary School (Grades: K4-5)

Most preschools in the city are private and provided by churches. There are also several private schools, such as Easley Christian School.

Tri-County Technical College maintains a campus in Easley. Clemson University is also located in nearby Clemson. Southern Wesleyan University is located in nearby Central, Greenville Technical College and Furman University are located nearby in Greenville.

Easley has a public library, a branch of the Pickens County Library System.

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Easley (Carolina del Sur) para niños

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