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| area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = 7.93| area_land_km2 = 7.87| area_water_km2 = 0.06| area_total_sq_mi = 3.06| area_land_sq_mi = 3.04| area_water_sq_mi = 0.022020 United States Census>2020| population_footnotes = | population_total = 3388| population_density_km2 = 430.43| population_density_sq_mi = 1114.84North American Eastern Time Zone>Eastern (EST)| utc_offset = −5| timezone_DST = EDT| utc_offset_DST = −4| elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = 110934548227region:US-SC_type:city|display=inline,title}}| postal_code_type = ZIP code| postal_code = 29671Area code 864>864Federal Information Processing Standard>FIPS codeUNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU>ACCESS-DATE=2008-01-31, U.S. Census website, Geographic Names Information System>GNIS feature ID1250078}}| website = www.cityofpickens.com| footnotes = | pop_est_as_of = | pop_est_footnotes = | population_est = }}Pickens, formerly called Pickens Courthouse, is a city in and the county seatWEB,weblink 2011-06-07, Find a County, National Association of Counties, of Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,126 at the 2010 census. Pickens changed its classification from a town to a city in 1998, but it was not reported to the Census Bureau until 2001.Population Estimates Boundary Changes {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206063031weblink |date=2006-02-06 }}, United States Census Bureau, 2007-07-01. Accessed 2008-11-06. It was named after Andrew Pickens (1739–1817), an American revolutionary soldier and US Congressman for South Carolina.Pickens is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Present-day Pickens of Pickens County was previously Cherokee Territory. During the American Revolutionary War, the Cherokee sided with the Kingdom of Great Britain. When Great Britain was defeated in the war, the Cherokee were forced to surrender their land. In 1791, the state legislature established Washington District that comprises present-day Greenville, Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties. In 1798 Washington District was divided into Greenville and Pendleton districts. The Pendleton district eventually became Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens County. Pendleton District was divided in 1828 into Anderson and Pickens. A courthouse was established on the banks of the Keowee River where the town of Pickens Court House was developed. The Hagood-Mauldin House was built circa 1856 and is one of the historic structures of Pickens County. In 1868, the Pickens District was divided for a final time, into Pickens and Oconee counties. Pickens Court House relocated to its present-day site and was renamed to Pickens.The Pickens Railway was established in 1898 as a shortline railroad from Easley to Pickens.WEB, Pickens County: A Brief History,weblink co.pickens.sc.us, County of Pickens, From 1955 until 1987, Sangamo-Weston Inc. operated a capacitor manufacturing facility just outside Pickens. Until they were banned in the US, Sangamo discharged a significant amount of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into a tributary of the Twelve Mile River which feeds into Lake Hartwell. Sangamo also dumped contaminated waste in six locations in the vicinity of Pickens. In two of these locations, the waste was burned, forming more dangerous dioxins. According to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, contamination was discovered at the "Breazeale site", southwest of town. Schlumberger paid $11.8 million to federal and state agencies for injuries to natural resources caused by the contamination.NEWS, Company to Pay $11.8 Million in Compensation for PCB-Damaged Fishery and Habitat,weblink 9 August 2016, Department of Justice, January 30, 2006,

Geography and climate

Pickens is located at {{coord|34|52|54|N|82|42|27|W|type:city}} (34.881700, -82.707477).WEB,weblink United States Census Bureau, 2011-04-23, 2011-02-12, US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, According to the United States Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.4 km2), of which 2.5 square miles (6.3 km2) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) (0.81%) is water.Pickens also has several small mountains that surround the city. Glassy Mountain, located east of Pickens, is a small mountain that can be reached by several small private roads. Glassy Mountain is an excellent example of a piedmont monadnock, which are rare in South Carolina. Sixty-five acres of the mountain are part of the South Carolina Heritage Trust, and contain varied and rare plant species. Perhaps one of the most famous mountains in the area is Table Rock State Park, located just to the north of Pickens, but still in the Pickens area, which has been a symbol for Pickens and can be seen throughout Pickens and nearby cities such as Easley and Greenville. In addition to Table Rock Mountain, the park contains Pinnacle Mountain, the highest mountain contained entirely within the state of South Carolina.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}{{Weather box|location = Pickens, South Carolina (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1941–present)|single line = Y|Jan record high F = 80|Feb record high F = 81|Mar record high F = 89|Apr record high F = 93|May record high F = 98|Jun record high F = 102|Jul record high F = 106|Aug record high F = 105|Sep record high F = 101|Oct record high F = 97|Nov record high F = 85|Dec record high F = 78|year record high F = 106|Jan high F = 52.5|Feb high F = 56.1|Mar high F = 63.7|Apr high F = 72.9|May high F = 79.8|Jun high F = 86.4|Jul high F = 89.8|Aug high F = 88.2|Sep high F = 82.9|Oct high F = 73.4|Nov high F = 63.1|Dec high F = 54.9|year high F = 72.0|Jan mean F = 41.4|Feb mean F = 44.4|Mar mean F = 51.3|Apr mean F = 59.8|May mean F = 68.2|Jun mean F = 75.8|Jul mean F = 79.3|Aug mean F = 78.2|Sep mean F = 72.3|Oct mean F = 61.3|Nov mean F = 50.7|Dec mean F = 44.0|year mean F = 60.6|Jan low F = 30.4|Feb low F = 32.4|Mar low F = 39.0|Apr low F = 46.8|May low F = 56.6|Jun low F = 65.1|Jul low F = 68.9|Aug low F = 68.1|Sep low F = 61.8|Oct low F = 49.2|Nov low F = 38.2|Dec low F = 33.1|year low F = 49.2|Jan record low F = −6|Feb record low F = 0|Mar record low F = 7|Apr record low F = 24|May record low F = 34|Jun record low F = 43|Jul record low F = 51|Aug record low F = 52|Sep record low F = 35|Oct record low F = 26|Nov record low F = 9|Dec record low F = 0|year record low F = −6|precipitation colour = green|Jan precipitation inch = 5.24|Feb precipitation inch = 4.54|Mar precipitation inch = 4.92|Apr precipitation inch = 4.68|May precipitation inch = 3.98|Jun precipitation inch = 5.02|Jul precipitation inch = 4.75|Aug precipitation inch = 5.07|Sep precipitation inch = 4.54|Oct precipitation inch = 4.06|Nov precipitation inch = 4.20|Dec precipitation inch = 5.67|year precipitation inch = 56.67|Jan snow inch = 0.4|Feb snow inch = 0.2|Mar snow inch = 0.0|Apr snow inch = 0.0|May snow inch = 0.0|Jun snow inch = 0.0|Jul snow inch = 0.0|Aug snow inch = 0.0|Sep snow inch = 0.0|Oct snow inch = 0.0|Nov snow inch = 0.0|Dec snow inch = 0.4|year snow inch = 1.0|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in|Jan precipitation days = 9.8|Feb precipitation days = 9.5|Mar precipitation days = 10.3|Apr precipitation days = 9.4|May precipitation days = 9.1|Jun precipitation days = 11.1|Jul precipitation days = 11.3|Aug precipitation days = 11.3|Sep precipitation days = 8.2|Oct precipitation days = 7.4|Nov precipitation days = 8.1|Dec precipitation days = 10.1|year precipitation days = 115.6|unit snow days = 0.1 in|Jan snow days = 0.2|Feb snow days = 0.0|Mar snow days = 0.0|Apr snow days = 0.0|May snow days = 0.0|Jun snow days = 0.0|Jul snow days = 0.0|Aug snow days = 0.0|Sep snow days = 0.0|Oct snow days = 0.0|Nov snow days = 0.0|Dec snow days = 0.2|year snow days = 0.4|source 1 = NOAAWEB,weblink NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, August 16, 2021, WEB,weblink Station: Pickens, SC, U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, August 16, 2021, }}

Demographics

{{US Census population|1880= 212|1890= 283|1900= 449|1910= 897|1920= 895|1930= 1130|1940= 1637|1950= 1961|1960= 2198|1970= 2954|1980= 3199|1990= 3042|2000= 3012|2010= 3126|2020= 3388PUBLISHER=CENSUS.GOVPUBLISHER=UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU, Oct 15, 2022, }}

2020 census{| class"wikitable"

weblink 2021-12-14, data.census.gov, !Race!Num.!Perc.White (U.S. Census)>White (non-Hispanic)|2,589|76.42%African American (U.S. Census)>Black or African American (non-Hispanic)|447|13.19%Native American (U.S. Census)>Native American|6|0.18%Asian (U.S. Census)>Asian|10|0.3%Race (United States Census)>Other/Mixed|198|5.84%Hispanic (U.S. Census)>Hispanic or Latino|138|4.07%As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,388 people, 1,190 households, and 764 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,012 people, 1,281 households, and 794 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|1,227.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,438 housing units at an average density of {{convert|585.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 80.54% White, 16.80% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 1.06% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.49% of the population.There were 1,281 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.88.File:Hagood-Mauldin House, 104 N. Lewis St., (Pickens, South Carolina).JPG|thumb|right|Hagood-Mauldin HouseHagood-Mauldin HouseIn the town the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.The median income for a household in the town was $26,364, and the median income for a family was $36,316. Males had a median income of $27,316 versus $19,706 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,436. About 12.7% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.5% of those under age 18 and 22.5% of those age 65 or over.

Historical attractions

Located three miles north of downtown on US 178 is Hagood Mill, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. Constructed in 1845 the grist mill was operational until the 1960s. There are monthly southern heritage festivals at the site, and stone ground corn meal and grits may be purchased. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}}. Of particular interest are petroglyphs discovered in 2003, estimated to be 1,500 to 2,000 years old and possibly from the Hopewell culture. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}}. A museum is planned for the historically significant site.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}The Old Pickens Jail is one of the few remaining early jails in Piedmont, South Carolina. It was constructed in 1903 and served as a detention facility and offices and living quarters for the county sheriff. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and now serves the community as a museum.

Education

The School District of Pickens County is headquartered in Easley, a neighboring city. The city itself contains three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.

• Pickens Elementary
• Hagood Elementary
• Pickens Middle
• Pickens High School

Pickens has a public library, a branch of the Pickens County Library System.WEB,weblink Pickens County Library System, PickensCountyLibrarySystem.com, Pickens County Library System, 4 November 2021,

Notable people

• Bobby Baker
• Browning Bryant
• Sam Wyche

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• City of Pickens
• Town of Pickens Chamber of Commerce

{{Pickens County, South Carolina}}{{South Carolina county seats}}{{authority control}}