Aiken is a city in and the
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of
Aiken CountyAiken County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,552; in 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 160,099...
,
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. With
Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, it is one of the two largest cities of the
Central Savannah River AreaThe Central Savannah River Area is a 13-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is also considered to include five to eight counties in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCollum, the winner of a $250 contest held by The Augusta Chronicle to generate the best name for the...
. It is part of the
Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical AreaThe Augusta–Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of six counties in the Central Savannah River Area , anchored by the city of Augusta, Georgia...
. Aiken is home to the
University of South Carolina at AikenThe University of South Carolina Aiken is a four-year, public coeducational university in Aiken, South Carolina. The school offers undergraduate degree programs as well as master's degrees in elementary education, educational technology and applied clinical psychology...
. The population was 29,494 at the 2100 census. Aiken was recognized with the
All-America City AwardThe All-America City Award is given by the National Civic League annually to ten cities in the United States.The oldest community recognition program in the nation, the award recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon...
in 1997 by the
National Civic LeagueThe National Civic League is an American non-profit organization that advocates for transparency, effectiveness, and openness in local government...
.
Geography
Aiken is located at 33°32′58"N 81°43′14"W (33.549397, -81.720689).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 16.2 square miles (42 km²).
Demographics
Population in 1890, 2,362; in 1900, 3,414; in 1910, 3,911; in 1940, 6,168. As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 25,337 people, 10,287 households, and 6,758 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,566.3 people per square mile (604.6/km²). There were 11,373 housing units at an average density of 703.1 per square mile (271.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.63% White, 30.30% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.49% of the population.
There were 10,287 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,100, and the median income for a family was $63,520. Males had a median income of $51,988 versus $28,009 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $24,129. About 10.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Aiken is governed via a mayor-council system. A mayor is elected at-large. The city council consists of six members. Four are elected from districts and the other two are elected at-large.
Historical events in Aiken
The history of Aiken dates to its incorporation on December 19, 1835. It was named for
William AikenWilliam Aiken, Jr. was the 61st Governor of South Carolina. He served from 1844 to 1846.He was the son of William Aiken, the first president of the pioneering South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company. Unfortunately, William Sr. was killed in a Charleston carriage accident and never saw his...
, a founder of a railroad company in Charleston.
The writer
Gamel WoolseyGamel Woolsey was an American poet and novelist.-Life:Woolsey was born on the Breeze Hill plantation in Aiken, South Carolina, as Elizabeth Gammell Woolsey, but in later years took her middle name, which she shortened to "Gamel" .Her father was plantation owner William Walter Woolsey...
, who coined the phrase "pornography of violence" in her memoir of the Spanish Civil War,
Death's Other Kingdom (also published under the title
Malaga Burning), was born in Aiken in 1895.
In the late 19th century, Aiken gained fame as a wintering spot for wealthy people from the Northeast. Over the years Aiken has hosted many famous and notable people.
In the spring of 1931, the nation's attention was riveted on Aiken when
Nicholas LongworthNicholas Longworth IV was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first few decades of the 20th century...
,
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Speaker of the House, came down unexpectedly with pneumonia and died there on April 9, 1931. He had been visiting family friends – all long-time Republicans and fellow poker players – who had a winter home in town. Longworth was married to US President
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's daughter,
Alice Roosevelt LongworthAlice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee....
, who rushed to his side from
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, arriving prior to his death.
1950 - Announcement of Savannah River Plant
The selection of a site near Aiken by the
United States Atomic Energy CommissionThe United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
to build a plant to produce fuel for thermonuclear weapons was announced on November 30, 1950. The site was named the Savannah River Plant (subsequently renamed to the
Savannah River SiteThe Savannah River Site is a nuclear reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell Counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of Augusta, Georgia. The site was built during the 1950s to refine nuclear materials for...
in 1989). The facility contained 5 production reactors, fuel fabrication facilities, a research laboratory, heavy water production facilities, two fuel reprocessing facilities and tritium recovery facilities.
Historic places
- Aiken Preparatory School
Aiken Preparatory School is a private, 4K-12 coeducational college preparatory school located on over in the historic district of Aiken, South Carolina....
- Aiken Tennis Club
The Aiken Tennis Club is a private court tennis club located at 146 Newberry Street, SW in Aiken, South Carolina. It includes the Court Tennis Building. The club was incorporated in 1898 with the sponsorship of financier and founder of the prominent Whitney family, William C. Whitney...
- Whitehall
Whitehall was constructed circa 1928 for Robert R. McCormick, one of the owners of the Chicago Tribune. The house was designed by Willis Irvin of Augusta, who won a Gold Medal for Domestic Work at the 1929 Southern Architectural Exhibition with its design...
- Palmetto Golf Club http://www.palmettogolfclub.net/
- Aiken Golf Club http://www.aikengolfclub.com/
- St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church
St. Mary Help of Christians Church is a Catholic parish at the corner of Park Avenue and York Street in Aiken, South Carolina. The complex, which includes St. Claire's Chapel and St. Mary Help of Christians Church, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.The original parish church was...
http://www.stmarys-aiken.org/subindex.html
Schools
- Aiken High School
- South Aiken High School
South Aiken High School is a four-year public high school located in Aiken, South Carolina. Approximately 1,500 students attend the school. It was recognized as one of the top 800 high schools in the country....
- South Aiken Baptist Christian School
- Aiken Christian School
- Aiken Preparatory School
Aiken Preparatory School is a private, 4K-12 coeducational college preparatory school located on over in the historic district of Aiken, South Carolina....
- Mead Hall Episcopal School
- Silver Bluff High School
- St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School, a private elementary and middle school.
- Lloyd Kennedy Charter School
- Kennedy Middle School
- Aiken Middle School
- Schofield Middle School
- JD Lever Elementary School
- Aiken Elementary
- Millbrook Elementary
- North Aiken Elementary
Colleges and universities
- University of South Carolina at Aiken
The University of South Carolina Aiken is a four-year, public coeducational university in Aiken, South Carolina. The school offers undergraduate degree programs as well as master's degrees in elementary education, educational technology and applied clinical psychology...
.
- Aiken Technical College
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory is a research unit of the University of Georgia, located at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. SREL is supported by federal, state, industry and foundation funding.Since the laboratory's founding in 1951 by Dr...
(SREL) is a research unit of The University of Georgia, located at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, S.C. - Since the laboratory's founding in 1951 by Dr. Eugene Odum of the University of Georgia, a pioneer of modern ecology, SREL scientists have studied the long-term ecological impacts of the SRS nuclear facility. SREL is supported by federal, state, industry, and foundation funding.
Steeplechase racing
The Aiken Steeplechase Association, founded in 1930,
http://www.aikensteeplechase.com/ hosts the Imperial Cup each March and the Holiday Cup in October, both of which are
steeplechase racesThe steeplechase is a form of horse racing and derives its name from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside...
sanctioned by the
National Steeplechase AssociationThe National Steeplechase Association is the official sanctioning body of American steeplechase horse racing.The National Steeplechase Association was founded on February 15, 1895 by August Belmont, Jr., the first president of The Jockey Club and chairman of the New York State Racing Commission,...
. This event shows large attendances of more than 30,000 spectators.
The
Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and MuseumThe Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous flat racing and steeplechase Thoroughbred horses that trained in Aiken, South Carolina....
was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous
flat racingFlat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...
and steeplechase
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horses that trained at
The Aiken Training Track.
Other events held In Aiken
Aiken also hosts many polo matches at the numerous polo fields located in the city. There are also many other events held in Aiken such as:
- The Lobster Races
- Aiken's Makin'
- Western Carolina State Fair
- Battle of Aiken Reenactment
- The Whiskey Road Race
- Aiken Triple Crown
- Fall Steeplechase
Notable residents
In the late 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, Aiken served as a winter playground for many of the country's wealthiest families such the
VanderbiltsThe Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin prominent during the Gilded Age. It started off with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy...
,
BostwicksThe Bostwick's are decendants of Robert De Brostick, born in 1522 in EnglandA branch of the New York Bostwick family rose to prominence when Jabez Abel Bostwick made a fortune in business and was a founding partner and first Treasurer of the Standard Oil Company....
, and the
WhitneysThe Whitney family is an American family notable for their social prominence, wealth, business enterprises and philanthropy, founded by John Whitney who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635.-Rise to prominence:...
.
- George H. Bostwick (1909–1982) court tennis
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
player, a steeplechaseThe steeplechase is a form of horse racing and derives its name from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside...
jockeyA jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
and horse trainerIn horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
, and an eight-goal poloPolo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
player.
- Dwight Filley Davis
Dwight Filley Davis was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition.-Biography:...
, 1879–1945, an American tennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player and politicianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who is best remembered as the founder of the Davis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
international tennis competition, had a summer home in Aiken.
- William C. Whitney
William Collins Whitney was an American political leader and financier and founder of the prominent Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first Cleveland administration from 1885 through 1889. A conservative reformer, he was considered a Bourbon Democrat.-Early life:William...
helped establish the "Winter Colony" taking the small "Joye Cottage" and building a 69-room winter residence with 15 bathrooms a full-size ballroom and a stable to house 30 horses.
- Robert C. De Large, (1842–1874), born in Aiken, United States Congressman from South Carolina in a contested election
- Thomas Hitchcock
-References:...
and his wife Louise spent a great deal of time at their 3000 acres (12.1 km²) estate near Aiken where in 1892 he founded the Palmetto Golf Club. http://www.palmettoamateur.com/palmettogolfclub.html. In 1916, Louise Hitchcock founded the Aiken Preparatory SchoolAiken Preparatory School is a private, 4K-12 coeducational college preparatory school located on over in the historic district of Aiken, South Carolina....
. The Hitchcocks built a steeplechaseThe steeplechase is a form of horse racing and derives its name from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside...
training center on their property and trained weanlings imported from England. In 1930, Thomas Hitchcock was one of the founders of the Aiken Steeplechase Association. http://www.aikensteeplechase.com/history.html Fond of fox huntingFox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
, they also established the Aiken Hounds and in 1916 received official recognition from the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America. http://www.mfha.com/.
- Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. (1900–1944), son of Thomas and Louise Hitchcock, was born in Aiken. He is considered one of the greatest polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
players of all-time. A veteran of the Lafayette EscadrilleThe Lafayette Escadrille , was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters.-History:Dr. Edmund L...
in World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was killed in the service of his country in World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
- Eugene Odum
Eugene Pleasants Odum was an American scientist known for his pioneering work on ecosystem ecology. He wrote the first ecology textbook: Fundamentals of Ecology....
The father of Ecology who wrote the book "Fundamentals of Ecology." In 1951 he founded the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in Aiken South Carolina to study the long-term ecological impacts of the Savannah River Site nuclear facility.
- Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
, (1902–2003), former US Senator who owned several residences in Aiken.
- Lee Atwater
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist to the Republican Party. He was an advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Childhood and early life:...
, (1951–1991), Republican political consultant and former Chairman of Republican National CommitteeThe Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
- Barney Chavous
Barney Lewis Chavous is a former American football defensive end/defensive tackle in the NFL. He played his entire thirteen year career with the Denver Broncos from 1973-1985. He ranks third on the Broncos' all-time sacks list with 75 and is tied with Tom Jackson for third in Broncos' career...
, former American football defensive end/defensive tackle in the NFL. He played his entire thirteen year career with the Denver Broncos from 1973-1985. Chavous was drafted to the NFL from South Carolina State University in the 2nd round.
- Corey Chavous
Corey Lamonte Chavous is an American football safety who is currently retired. Chavous played 11 years in the NFL for three different teams, primarily as a safety but also as a cornerback. Chavous was known as one of the most instinctive safeties of his era and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2003....
, former All American football player playing 10 years in the NFL
- William Refrigerator Perry, former NFL defensive lineman and 3-time NCAA All-American (1982–1984).
- Michael Dean Perry
Michael Dean Perry is a former American football defensive lineman and the younger brother of William Perry. His parents are Mrs. Inez S. Perry [deceased] and Hollie Perry, Sr. of Aiken, South Carolina. He learned to play football from his older brothers...
, former NFL defensive lineman, 6-time pro bowler (89-91, 93-94, 96), NCAA first-team All-American (1987).
- Marly Youmans
Marly Youmans is an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She grew up in Louisiana, North Carolina, and elsewhere, and she currently lives in the village of Cooperstown, New York with her husband and three children.-Life:She graduated from Hollins College, Brown University, and...
, novelist and poet, born in Aiken
- Paul Williams
Paul Williams is an American boxer and is the former two-time WBO welterweight champion.With a height of six-feet-one inch, Paul is considered extremely tall for the three divisions he campaigns in: Welterweight, Jr...
, current WBO Welterweight Champion.
- Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
, professional wrestler
- Troy Williamson
-Minnesota Vikings:The Vikings needed a receiver with deep speed after trading Randy Moss to Oakland, drafting Williamson with the 7th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft...
, professional football player.
- James Walter "Jimmy" Carter
James Walter Carter was a world lightweight boxing champion. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2000. Carter's loss to Lauro Salas in 1952 and his loss to Paddy DeMarco in 1954 were each named Ring Magazine upset of the year...
, champion boxer
- Grace Taylor
Grace Taylor is an American gymnast.- Early career :Taylor spent her club career at Aiken Gymnastics in Aiken, South Carolina. She trained with coaches Draha Krizova and Radek Kriz...
, gymnast
- Anna Camp
Anna Ragsdale Camp is an American stage and television actress. She is known for her role as Jill Mason in the 2008 Broadway revival of Equus and for her role as Sarah Newlin in the HBO television drama series True Blood....
, actress, best-known as Sarah Newlin in the HBO series True BloodTrue Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
- Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, actor and dancer
- Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, singer
- Gamel Woolsey
Gamel Woolsey was an American poet and novelist.-Life:Woolsey was born on the Breeze Hill plantation in Aiken, South Carolina, as Elizabeth Gammell Woolsey, but in later years took her middle name, which she shortened to "Gamel" .Her father was plantation owner William Walter Woolsey...
(1895–1968), writer and poet, born in Aiken
- Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, Pulizer Prize winning writers
The Southside
The Southside is the southern area of the city of Aiken, which strongly increased in development after the construction of the
Savannah River SiteThe Savannah River Site is a nuclear reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell Counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of Augusta, Georgia. The site was built during the 1950s to refine nuclear materials for...
. It now serves as the premiere shopping district in Aiken County, being the location of the Aiken Mall, multiple retail stores, and several restaurants. Two large residential communities, Houndslake Country Club and Woodside Plantation, include some of the most prestigious homes in Aiken and have multiple golf courses within the communities.
Aiken Municipal Airport
Although no scheduled commercial flights run through the airport, it is a very busy airport with multiple executive partners from nearby businesses. It has two newly paved runways, a newly renovated terminal, and is in close proximity with Interstate 20.
External links