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About the Anderson Area

Anderson - Belton - Honea Path - Iva - Pelzer - Pendleton - Piedmont - Starr - Williamston - West Pelzer

Anderson County
The area now called Anderson County was part of the Cherokee Indian Nation until the Revolutionary War. It was explored by Gen. Andrew Pickens and Gen. Robert Anderson in 1776, and settled — originally in the Pendleton area — in the late 1700s. The county seat was moved from Pendleton to Anderson in 1826. Anderson County is a key part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area market, which in 2000 had a total population of 937,100 people.

Population: 165,740
Size: 718 square miles
Elevation: 764 feet

Climate: Anderson County has four distinct seasons, with mild winters and warm summers. The mean annual temperature is 62 degrees F., and the area has average of 248 days a year of sunshine. The average annual rainfall is 47 inches.

Location: Northwestern South Carolina, 12 miles from the Georgia state line, 122 miles northeast of Atlanta, and near the North Carolina and Tennessee state lines.

Government: Anderson County has an administrator-council form of government, with an elected five-member council that sets policy and a paid administrator who carries out county operations. Most cities in the county have mayor-council governments and administer police and fire departments and other municipal services.

Taxes: Various state and county tax incentives and abatements combine to produce one of the nation's lowest per capita tax structures. South Carolina's state sales tax is 5 percent.

City of Anderson
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Population: 25,514
Anderson was founded in February 1827 and incorporated by an act of the Legislature Dec. 19, 1833. Anderson was nicknamed the Electric City when power was transmitted over long-distance electric lines to power a textile mill in the city in 1897.

Government: The city has a council-manager type of government with an elected mayor, an employed city manager and eight elected council members to serve the eight city wards. The mayor and council serve four-year terms.

Offices:
401 South Main Street
Anderson, SC 29621
Telephone: (864) 231-2200

Belton
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Population: 4,461
Long before Belton was chartered, it was an important stop on the old wagon trail from the mountains to Hamburg, located on the Savannah River near Augusta, GA. The wagon trail followed the old Indian trail along which DeSoto is believed to have traveled in 1540 when he crossed Anderson County on his way to the mountains. When two railway lines created a junction in Belton, this had much to do with the prosperity of the area. Much of the land of the area was owned by Dr. George Brown, a well-known physician. He gave several acres of land for a railroad station, now the public square, and a lot on which to build a school. His daughter, Josephine, named the town Belton in honor of Judge Belton O'Neal who was instrumental in the construction of the Greenville-Columbia railroad and was its first president. The town was chartered in 1855. In its early years, Belton was well-known for its hotel, built by Brown and Broyles and sold soon after its completion to G.W. McGee. It was famous for its food and hospitality, and travelers from all over made a special effort to lodge there. The castle-like tower that rises above the town of Belton — the standpipe for water storage — has become a familiar landmark and its image is used as Belton's logo in the town's seal. It was constructed in 1909. Government: Belton has a mayor-council form of government, with an appointed Town administrator. The six elected council members and the mayor serve four year terms on a staggered basis.

Offices:
306 Anderson Street
Belton, SC 29627
Telephone: (864) 338-7773

Honea Path
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There are some who say the town of Honea Path is operating under an assumed name and that the original name was Honey Path. The exact origin of the name of this small Anderson County municipality has been tossed around for nearly a century. The original 1885 charter refers to the town as "Honey Path" in three places. Early wills and deeds also bear the name "Honey Path." The town apparently was named for William Honey, early trader and large landowner in the area. There is a record of the town being incorporated in 1917 under the name Honea Path. Since that time, legal documents have used the name Honea Path. The Pendleton District Historical and Recreational Commission, however, says Honea Path came from the Cherokee name for path, which is "Honea."

Population: 3,504
Government: The mayor and town council members are elected to four-year terms with an election every two years so that the terms are staggered.

Offices:
30 North Main Street
Honea Path, SC 29654
Telephone: (864) 369-2466

Iva
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Population: 1,156
Government: The town has a mayor/council form of government on two-year elected terms.

Offices:
Town Hall
P.O. Box 188
Iva, SC 29655
Telephone: (864) 348-6193

Pelzer
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Population: 97 (incorporated area); 2,000 (greater Pelzer)
Government: Pelzer has a mayor/council form of government with a Town manager handling operations.

Offices:
Courtney Street
Pelzer, SC
Telephone: (864) 947-6231

Pendleton
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Once the center of the Pendleton District, which later was divided into Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties, the town was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is filled with historic homes and buildings and the town square is host to many festivals and events.

Population: 2,996
Government: The town operates under a mayor/council form of government. The mayor and four elected council members serve four-year terms on a staggered basis.

Offices:
310 Greenville Street
Pendleton, SC
Telephone: (864) 646-9409

Piedmont
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Piedmont, which is incorporated, is a two-county town, divided by the Saluda River, with part of the town in Anderson County and part in Greenville County. Piedmont has the distinction of being one of the oldest manufacturing towns in South Carolina. Its beginnings date back to 1843, when the area was known as Garrison Shoals and a small grist mill and a log cabin were the only structures.
The first mill building was completed in early 1876.
Several Piedmont schools are on Anderson County soil.

Starr
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Population: 173
Government: Starr has a mayor and a part-time police officer and helps support a volunteer fire department. The town officials are elected for two-year terms.

Offices:
Middle of Old Square
Telephone: (864) 352-2138

Williamston
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Population: 3,791
Government: Williamston operates on a mayor/council government with four-year terms expiring on a rotating basis every two years.

Offices:
12 West Main Street
Williamston, SC
Telephone: (864) 847-7473

West Pelzer
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Population: 879

Offices:
3 Hindman Street
West Pelzer, SC
Telephone: (864) 947-6297

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