Beech Island, South Carolina

Beech Island, South Carolina
Unincorporated community
Beech Island
Coordinates: 33°25′39″N 81°53′27″W / 33.42750°N 81.89083°W / 33.42750; -81.89083Coordinates: 33°25′39″N 81°53′27″W / 33.42750°N 81.89083°W / 33.42750; -81.89083
Country  United States of America
State  South Carolina
County Aiken
Population (2010)
 • Total 7,675
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code 29842
Area code(s) 803
GNIS feature ID 1245034[1]

Beech Island is an unincorporated community of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States.[2] It appears to take its name from Beech Island, a nearby former island that is politically part of Georgia but geographically separated from the rest of Georgia by a river which changed its bed. It was preceded by the trading post and fort at Savannah Town.

Beech Island was primarily an agricultural community before the 1950s. Cotton, wheat, corn, and soybean were the major crops. This changed with the construction of Urquhart Station Power Station and the nearby Savannah River Nuclear Project. New highways were built to accommodate the workers commuting to the Nuclear Project. Commerce grew and the community began to change. In the 1960s Kimberly-Clark built a large manufacturing facility on what was once farmland, creating more jobs. The boom, however, was short-lived.

Beech Island's most famous resident was James Brown, who lived there for the last few decades of his life on a 60-acre (240,000 m2) estate. Brown is buried in the Thomas Family Home Crypt on Beech Island.

The Cedars, Fort Moore-Savano Town Site, Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site, Oakland Plantation, and Zubly Cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3][4]

Beech Island is also home to most of the television transmitters that serve the Augusta, GA MSA.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  2. ↑ Walter Edgar, Ed.: The South Carolina Encyclopedia, The University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, S.C., 2006, p. 63.
  3. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 8/15/11 through 8/19/11. National Park Service. 2011-08-26.


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