Easley, South Carolina

Easley
Easley
City
	Top, left to right: Downtown Easley, Norfolk Southern Railway, Easley Mill, Easley water tower, Easley City Hall
	Seal
	Motto: "Time Well Spent"
	Easley Location of Easley in South Carolina
	Coordinates: 34°49′24″N 82°35′25″W / 34.82333°N 82.59028°W
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
Counties	Pickens, partially Anderson
Established	1874
Incorporated	1901
Government
• Mayor	Lisa Talbert
• Police Chief	Brandon Liner
• Fire Chief	Bradley Owen
Area
• Total	13.07 sq mi (33.86 km2)
• Land	13.05 sq mi (33.80 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation	1,063 ft (324 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	22,921
• Density	1,756.26/sq mi (678.11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	29640-29642
Area codes	864, 821
FIPS code	45-21985
GNIS feature ID	1247594
Website	cityofeasley.com

Easley is a city in Pickens County (with parts extending into Anderson County) in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with a small portion of the city in Anderson County.

In 2001, Easley hosted the Big League World Series for the first time, and continued to host the tournament annually until it was disbanded in 2016. In 2017, the Senior League World Series moved to Easley as the host for the annual tournament. The Upper South Carolina State Fair is located in Easley and is held annually in early September.

History

In 1791, Washington District was established by the state legislature out of the former Cherokee territory. Rockville was also created in 1791 but changed to Pickensville in 1792. Pickensville became the district seat of Washington District which was then composed of Greenville and Pendleton Counties. In 1798, Washington District was divided into Greenville and Pendleton Districts. In 1828, Pendleton District was divided further with the lower portion becoming Anderson County and the upper becoming Pickens County named after Andrew Pickens.

Col. Robert Elliott Holcombe became a co-founder of the town by starting off as a farmer and timber mill owner in the area. His farming ventures enabled him to establish the storeroom in 1845 as the first business in the area. The namesake of the town was William King Easley. Easley was born in Pickens County, South Carolina in 1825. Easley and four others from Greenville represented the Greenville area in the South Carolina Secession Convention. When the American Civil War erupted, Easley raised a company of cavalry from Greenville and Pickens counties. During the war, Easley served as a major in the Confederate Army.^[5]

After the civil war, Easley became a local attorney and persuaded the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway to be established through Pickensville by raising $100,000 to invest in the railroad. Holcombe was considered to be the first citizen of Easley, building the first dwelling and train depot in the town from his family's lumber mill. Holcombe became the first mayor of the town and was also the first agent of the train depot.^[6] The town of Easley was chartered in 1873. At the time, the consensus was that it should be named Holcombe or Holcombetown, but Col. Holcombe said that he didn't think Holcombe was a very attractive name and that Easley sounded better. The Pickensville Post Office became Easley Post Office in 1875. The railroad transformed Easley into an industrious and thriving textile town. The Easley Textile Company, later known as Swirl Inc., came to Easley in 1953. The construction of U.S. Route 123 helped establish retail and new business in Easley. On April 25, 1951, a department store was on fire threatening many buildings in downtown Easley but the quick response of the fire department extinguished the fire.^[7]

In 1968, NASCAR driver Curtis Turner caused a telephone outage in Easley while landing his airplane on the town's main street.^[8]

In 2020, longtime fire chief Butch Womack was elected mayor.^[9] However, in 2023, Lisa Talbert challenged his reelection, becoming Easley's first female mayor when she defeated him.^[10]

Geography

Easley is located in southeastern Pickens County at 34°49′24″N 82°35′25″W / 34.82333°N 82.59028°W / 34.82333; -82.59028 (34.823371, -82.590394),^[11] 12 miles (19 km) west of the center of Greenville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.3 square miles (31.8 km²), of which 12.2 square miles (31.7 km²) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.17%, is water.^[12]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	327		—
1890	421		28.7%
1900	903		114.5%
1910	2,983		230.3%
1920	3,568		19.6%
1930	4,886		36.9%
1940	5,183		6.1%
1950	6,316		21.9%
1960	8,283		31.1%
1970	11,175		34.9%
1980	14,264		27.6%
1990	15,195		6.5%
2000	17,754		16.8%
2010	19,993		12.6%
2020	22,957		14.8%
2023 (est.)	26,386	^[13]	14.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[14]^[4]

2020 census

Easley racial composition^[15]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	17,340	75.65%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,680	11.69%
Native American	32	0.14%
Asian	268	1.17%
Pacific Islander	5	0.02%
Other/Mixed	1,041	4.54%
Hispanic or Latino	1,555	6.78%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,921 people, 8,738 households, and 5,571 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,754 people, 7,227 households, and 5,058 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,668.8 inhabitants per square mile (644.3/km²). There were 7,932 housing units at an average density of 745.6 per square mile (287.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.35% White, 11.81% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.25% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.82% of the population.

There were 7,227 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,204, and the median income for a family was $47,867. Males had a median income of $35,399 versus $25,443 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,965. About 8.4% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Military

National Guard

Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 263rd Army Air Missile Defense Command, is based at the Easley National Guard Armory in Easley.

Recruiting

U.S. Army Recruiting Substation
U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Substation

JROTC

Easley High School Navy JROTC Battalion

Awarded Distinguished Unit 20 consecutive years in a row by NJROTC Area 6.

Education

Public school services are provided to Easley by the School District of Pickens County. 7 of their schools provide public education to the children of Easley.