Easley

Easley is a city in Pickens County (with parts extending into Anderson County) in the State of South Carolina. The Upper South Carolina State Fair is located in Easley and is held annually in early September. 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. The namesake of the town was William King Easley, who served as a major in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Easley is located at 34°4924N 82°3525W (34.823371, -82.590394), 12 miles (19 km) west of the center of Greenville. In the 2020 United States census, there were 22,921 people, 8,738 households, and 5,571 families residing in the city. 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 0.039square miles (0.1 km², or 0.17%) is water. Butch Womack is the elected mayor of Easley. The Pint Station opened in 2018 and continues to serve the greater Easley area today. The Easley Textile Company, later known as Swirl Inc., came to Easley in 1953. The Pickensville Post Office became Easley Post Office in 1875. The railroad transformed Easley into an industrious and thriving textile town.

History

Easley is the primary city name, but also Powdersville are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Easley. William King Easley was born in Pickens County, South Carolina in 1825. Col. Robert Elliott 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. 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. 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. The town was chartered in 1873 and named Easley by Col. Holcombe, who didn't like the name Holcombe or Holcombetown and chose Easley because it sounded better. Easley is located on the banks of the Little River, which was once a tributary of the James River. It is the site of the South Carolina Turnpike, one of the busiest roads in the state. It was also the location of the U.S. Civil War Battle of the Bulge, which took place in 1864. The city was founded in 1791 and became the district seat of Washington District in 1792. In 1798 Washington District was divided into Greenville and Pendleton Districts. In 1828 Pendleton County was divided further with the lower portion becoming Anderson County and the upper becoming Pickens county.

Geography

Easley is located in southeastern Pickens County at 34°4924N 82°3525W (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 is land. Butch Womack is the elected mayor of Easley. The city is home to the Easley High School football team, which won the state championship in 2010. The school is located on the banks of the Little River, which flows through Easley and into Greenville, South Carolina. The town has a population of 1,071. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city's population at 1,081. It is located at 34.9 square miles, or 31.7 km², with 0.039 square miles of land and 0.1 km² of water, or 0.17% of its total area. Easley is the home of the South Carolina College of Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1883. It was the first college in the state to graduate from high school, in 1881. The state's first high school opened in 1882, and it is still the location of the state's oldest high school. It has been the site of high school and college football teams since 1882. It also has a high school football team.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 22,921 people, 8,738 households, and 5,571 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 85.35% White, 11.81% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.03% Pacific Islander, and 0.90% from two or more races. There were 7,932 housing units at an average density of 745.6 per square mile (287.8/km²) The city's median income was $38,204, and the median income for a family was $47,867. About 8.4% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 11.9%. The city has a population of 17,754, and its population is expected to grow to 22,000 by the end of the decade. The city is located on the banks of the Red River. The Red River flows through the city and into the Mississippi River. It is the state's only major waterway, and it is the only city in the state with more than 10,000 people living in it. It also has one of the highest rates of obesity in the United States, with 1.7% of its population aged 18 or older. The average household size is 2.43, with the average family size being 2.90.

Military

Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 263rd Army Air Missile Defense Command, is based at the Easley National Guard Armory in Easley. Easley High School Navy JROTC Battalion has been awarded Distinguished Unit 20 consecutive years in a row by NJROTC Area 6. The National Guard is part of the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps. The Army is responsible for recruiting for the National Guard. The Marines are responsible for recruitment for the Marines. The Marine Corps is based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and has a recruiting base in South Carolina, as well as a training center in South Dakota. The Easley Armory is home to the Army and Marine Corps Recruiting Substitutions. It is also the home of the National Guardsmen from Easley County, South Carolina. The N.G.A.R.C.E. is a member of the South Carolina Army National Guard and serves as part of a joint training program with the Army Reserve. The South Carolina Air National Guard also has a training facility in the town of Easley, which was established by the Army in the 1950s. It was the first National Guard base to be established in the state. It has been the site of numerous military exercises and training programs since the 1960s, including the opening of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The base is also home to a number of military academies, including Camp Pendleton and Camp LeJeune, South Africa.

Education

Most preschools in the city are private and provided by churches. There are also several private schools, such as Easley Christian School. Easley has a public library, a branch of the Pickens County Library System. Tri-County Technical College maintains a campus in Easley. Clemson University is also located in nearby Clemson. Southern Wesleyan University is located in Central, Greenville Technical College and Furman University are located nearby in Greenville. The city is home to the Easley High School, which has an enrollment of 912. The school district also has a middle school, a high school, and an elementary school. The Easley Public Library System has a collection of more than 2,000 books. The library system is part of the South Carolina Library System, which also includes the University of South Carolina at Greenville and South Carolina State University. The City of Easley is located on the banks of the Waccamaw River, which is a tributary of the Little Pungo River. The town is located near the junction of Interstate-75 and Interstate-220. The Waccasaw River runs through Easley and into South Carolina, which runs into the state's easternmost point, the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. The county has a population of about 2,500 people, the majority of whom live in or near the town of Greenville, South Carolina. The population of the city is about 1,800. The highest school in the town is Easley Elementary, with an average of 1,700 students per year.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina = 57. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 73. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 51. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Easley = 4.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 5,592 individuals with a median age of 39.6 age the population grows by 10.76% in Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,756.26 residents per square mile of area (678.11/km²). There are average 2.37 people per household in the 8,218 households with an average household income of $45,076 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 11.00% of the available work force and has dropped -4.11% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.78%. The number of physicians in Easley per 100,000 population = 121.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Easley = 55.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 3.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 119. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 222. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 31.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 36, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina which are owned by the occupant = 61.80%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 29 years with median home cost = $135,330 and home appreciation of 0.27%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $3.67 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,174 per student. There are 12 students for each teacher in the school, 363 students for each Librarian and 463 students for each Counselor. 7.15% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 13.41% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.32% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).