By Palmetto State Auditor Staff
It’s Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025, and Summerton, South Carolina is celebrating a big milestone: 136 years since the state officially made it a town. That happened back in 1889, right in the heart of the South. Since then, Summerton has lived through plenty, cotton booms, tough times, the fight for civil rights. It’s a story that’s got all the highs and lows you’d expect from a Southern town: lots of change, plenty of challenges, and a spirit that doesn’t let up.
From Cotton Fields to Town Charter
Summerton’s story starts in the mid-1800s. Plantation owners, tired of the mosquitoes and sickness down by the Santee River, started heading inland. They found higher ground, better weather, and fewer bugs. This place was known as a healthy spot long before it officially became a town.
After the Civil War, cotton was everything. Within just a few miles of Summerton, there were more than a dozen cotton gins. Money and people flowed in, until the boll weevil showed up in the early 1900s. That little beetle did real damage, wrecking cotton crops and forcing people to rethink how they made a living.
A few moments stand out from those early years:
-
- In May 1885, the steamship from Charleston to Wrights Bluff near Summerton cut back to just one trip a week. The world was changing, and so was the way people moved goods.
-
- In 1889, the Wilson & Summerton Railroad started running, connecting the town to bigger markets and giving it a shot at real growth..
By the end of 1889, Summerton wasn’t just a group of homes in the pines anymore. It was an official town, built on the dreams and sweat of its people.
Growth Through the 20th Century
As the new century rolled in, Summerton started to change. Cotton wasn’t the only thing going on anymore. Railroads, businesses like the James Building (built in 1905 and now on the National Register of Historic Places), and new town institutions became part of everyday life.
After the boll weevil, farmers had to get creative, some switched crops, others tried new things. All the while, Summerton was right in the middle of Clarendon County, feeling the impact of Jim Crow laws and all the tensions that came with that era.
A Crucible of Change: Civil Rights and Education
Summerton isn’t just another small town, it played a key role in America’s civil rights movement. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, families here pushed back against unfair schools, leading to Briggs v. Elliott. That case was one of five that made up Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision in 1954 that ended legal segregation in public schools.
The old Summerton High School still stands today, now part of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. It’s the only school building left in Clarendon County tied to the Briggs case, a real piece of history in brick and mortar.
But ending segregation on paper didn’t fix everything. Many white families left public schools for private ones in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Divisions lingered, and the scars of segregation stuck around for years. Laws changed faster than people did.
Today: Small Town, Big Legacy
Now, in the 21st century, Summerton is still small, just over 800 people as of the last census. But the town packs a lot of history. It’s home for families, a stop for travelers driving I-95, and a jumping-off point for folks heading to Lake Marion.
People here don’t forget their history. From farming roots to the push for justice, Summerton’s story is remembered by everyone, teachers, historians, and longtime residents. Every Christmas Eve, when the town marks another year, neighbors take a moment to think about the past and look ahead to what’s possible.
As Summerton celebrates its 136th birthday, locals and friends from far away honor the history that shaped this place, and the grit that keeps it going.
