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34-429: In the late 1990s, local business and legislative leaders were concerned that the region was losing high-tech companies because of the limitations in graduate education available in the area. They believed that Charleston should be a perfect setting for economic growth in the new economy – with the nation’s fourth largest seaport, a center of Homeland Security activity, and a region of ecological and historical richness. Yet,

68-606: A county administrator who is tasked with running the day-to-day operations of the county, with the exception of the Sheriff's Office. Mary Gordon Ellis , the first woman elected to the South Carolina legislature, represented Jasper County in the state senate for one term, from 1928 to 1932, after having served as state superintendent of schools. Like most counties in the rural Black Belt of South Carolina, Jasper has long leaned Democratic. However, in 2024 , Donald Trump

102-475: A wealthier tax base. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 701.58 square miles (1,817.1 km ), of which 655.16 square miles (1,696.9 km ) is land and 46.42 square miles (120.2 km ) (6.62%) is water. As of the 2020 census , there were 28,791 people, 10,269 households, and 7,298 families residing in the county. At the 2010 census , there were 24,777 people, 8,517 households, and 5,944 families living in

136-553: Is a 15–60 km wide region within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, along the inland margin of this province. The Carolina Sandhills are interpreted as eolian (wind-blown) sand sheets and dunes that were mobilized episodically approximately 75,000 to 6,000 years ago. Most of the published luminescence ages from the sand are coincident with the last glaciation, a time when the southeastern United States had colder air temperatures and stronger winds. The area above

170-408: Is under pressure from both development and overharvesting. Mary Jackson was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for her work making sweetgrass baskets. 33°07′34″N 80°00′32″W  /  33.1260618°N 80.0087746°W  / 33.1260618; -80.0087746 Jasper County, South Carolina Jasper County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of South Carolina . As of

204-509: The 2000 census , there were 20,678 people, 7,042 households, and 5,091 families living in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12 people/km ). There were 7,928 housing units at an average density of 12 units per square mile (4.6 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 52.69% Black or African American , 42.39% White , 0.37% Native American , 0.44% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 3.39% from other races , and 0.67% from two or more races. 5.75% of

238-567: The 2020 census , the population was 28,791. Its county seat is Ridgeland and its largest community is Hardeeville . The county was formed in 1912 from portions of Hampton County and Beaufort County . Jasper County is included in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area . It is located in the Lowcountry region of the state. The county was founded in 1912 and

272-709: The Charleston-Savannah Railway ) currently operates both freight trains and passenger trains (via Amtrak ) along the line, but does not stop anywhere within the county. The line also runs along the Hampton-Jasper County border northeast of the bridge over the Tullifinny River. Another active CSX line within the county is the Columbia Subdivision which bisects the northwest corner of Jasper County between

306-558: The Sea Islands . The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an important source of biodiversity in South Carolina. Once known for its slave-based agricultural wealth in rice and indigo , crops that flourished in the hot subtropical climate, the Lowcountry today is known for its historic cities and communities, natural environment , cultural heritage, and tourism industry. Demographically,

340-747: The University of South Carolina and South Carolina State University , the LGC formed new partnerships and ways to bring graduate-level education to the area. The LGC consistently focuses on the economic development needs of the Charleston Metro Area , keeping in contact with local Chambers of Commerce and organizations associated with three focus sectors: 1) advanced manufacturing and IT ; 2) healthcare and community wellness; and 3) K-12 education . The LGC has previously partnered with Clemson University and Anderson University . In August 2020

374-622: The "Rice Pharaohs" who would create generational wealth with them and their descendants dominating South Carolinian politics in an effort to preserve slavery at all costs. The center of the rice industry was based around the confluence of the Waccamaw , the Great Peedee and Black Rivers due to the abundance of sediment deposits, a region that was compared to the Nile river in Egypt . Due to

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408-643: The 20th century. The tourism commission advertises both nature-based tourism and historic sites. The pressure of the tourism industry on the coast both encroaches on marshland and places pressure on African American communities. The industry tends to emphasize the Gullah Geechee cultural tradition as part of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor . Important to this cultural tradition are traditional sweetgrass baskets. But, harvesting natural sweetgrass

442-521: The LGC moved from the College of Charleston North Campus previously located on Paramount Dr. in North Charleston, SC, which previously housed CofC's School of Professional Studies, to Trident Technical College . South Carolina Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country ) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina 's coast, including

476-585: The Lowcountry is still heavily dominated by African American communities, such as the Gullah/Geechee people. As of the 2020 census, the population of the Lowcountry was 1,167,139. The term "Low Country" originally referred to all of the states below the Fall Line , or the Sandhills , which run the width of the states from Aiken County to Chesterfield County. The Sandhills, or Carolina Sandhills,

510-774: The Peidmont gentry in the cause for secession . Following the Confederacy 's defeat in the American Civil War , many of the Lowcountry estates had been destroyed by the Union army , with the slaves on the remaining plantations begin emancipated, which finally broke the power of the Lowcountry gentry. Soon timber and phosphate mining became the primary economic power in the Lowcountry, as the remaining rice plantations struggled to compete with those in Texas. The deathblow to

544-468: The Sandhills is known as "Upstate" or "Upcountry". These areas are different in geology, geography, and culture. There are several variations in the geographic extent of the "Lowcountry" area. The most commonly accepted definition includes Charleston , Dorchester , Beaufort , Georgetown , Colleton , Hampton , Berkeley , Jasper , and Williamsburg Counties, often described as the area encompassing

578-557: The basins of Cooper River , Santee River , ACE (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto), Winyah Bay , and Savannah River . Some include Marion and Horry Counties. Dillon County is included in the Lowcountry by the largest group of healthcare executives in the state. Allendale is also occasionally included in the region. Four counties are covered by the Lowcountry Council of Governments , a regional governmental entity charged with regional and transportation planning, and are

612-460: The coastal areas and the sea islands of North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia and Florida —from Pender County, North Carolina , to St. Johns County, Florida . Coastal South Carolina’s half a million acres of salt marsh, which typifies the Lowcountry in particular, is underlain by plough mud or pluff mud , named for the traditional spelling of plow but now often pronounced to rhyme with rough . Once used to fertilize fields of cotton,

646-481: The county was $ 30,727, and the median income for a family was $ 36,793. Males had a median income of $ 29,407 versus $ 21,055 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 14,161. About 15.4% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over. Jasper County is governed by a five-member partisan county council, who are elected in staggered four year terms. The council appoints

680-456: The county. The population density was 37.8 inhabitants per square mile (14.6 inhabitants/km ). There were 10,299 housing units at an average density of 15.7 units per square mile (6.1 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 46.0% black or African American, 43.0% white, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 8.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.1% of

714-494: The harsh climate and labor intensive work required to harvest rice, planters at the time deemed it "impossible" to cultivate the region. The vast majority of slaves to South Carolina where imported for the rice plantations, and as such the rice pharaohs also become dominate players in the slave trade . Due to this Charleston rapidly grew to facilitate rice exports and slave imports. The rice pharaohs quickly surpassed and replaced other gentry, such as those who grew sugar, due to

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748-572: The hinterland, in an effort to preserve their economic dominance. Timothy Ford, a lawyer born in Trenton, New Jersey , moved to the Lowcountry in 1760 and criticized the gentry as having an "effeminate spirit of luxury and dissipation" and seemingly only cared about amusement, gambling, accumulation of wealth, and vanity. At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War , a subgroup of Lowcountry gentry emerged to prominence,

782-553: The idealized concept was hampered, at the time, by the lack of graduate opportunities needed to attract and retain employees and new businesses. Established in 2001, the LGC brings together the power of local, Lowcountry public universities – the College of Charleston , the Medical University of South Carolina and The Citadel to help provide accessible graduate-level programs and courses. With these institutions, plus

816-448: The mud is pervaded by decaying organic matter and bacteria that feed on it, giving it a notoriously sulfurous stench. Historically the region was dominated by the Lowcountry gentry , a planter aristocracy that dominated most economic activities in the region through extensive plantations. These gentry quickly imported most of the early slaves to South Carolina, and made a concerted effort to outlaw further imports, especially into

850-574: The ones included in the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism's "Lowcountry and Resort Islands" area. The area includes the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area . Technically, the Lowcountry is synonymous with the areas with a large population of Gullah Geechee peoples of the region. Gullah Geechee people have traditionally resided in

884-433: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 7,042 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

918-415: The population. In terms of ancestry, 7.1% were Irish, and 2.5% were American. Of the 8,517 households, 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.2% were non-families, and 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size

952-408: The rice plantations would be a series of hurricanes from 1893 to 1911 which destroyed most of the remaining estates, with their owners being unable to afford to rebuild. Their lands where mostly bought by Northerners to turn into hunting preserves, with only 70,000 acres of rice impoundments existing by 1999. The tourism industry has been a vibrant part of the region's economy since the beginning of

986-418: The rise of the "Piedmont gentry" who began to erode the economic dominance of the rice pharaohs and Lowcounty gentry as a whole and advocated for further expansions to slavery. In order to compete with inland plantations, the Lowcountry gentry began buying land from Alabama to Texas and advocating for the reopening of the slave trade. By the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 the Lowcountry gentry sided with

1020-615: The sugar industry's reliance on British trade with the Caribbean , making most of them loyalists during the war. By 1787 the Lowcountry gentry argued in favor of abolishing the import of any new slaves to the United States, as their own plantations where self sufficient, and their slaves reproducing. However, with Eli Whitney 's invention of the cotton gin , South Carolina permitted the import of slaves from 1803 to 1808, almost exclusively to new inland cotton plantations, which saw

1054-412: Was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.22. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.3 males. The median income for a household in

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1088-428: Was 3.23. The median age was 34.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 37,393 and the median income for a family was $ 45,800. Males had a median income of $ 31,999 versus $ 24,859 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 17,997. About 14.2% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 32.2% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over. At

1122-515: Was able to flip the county Republican for the first time since Richard Nixon carried it in 1972 . In 2022, the GDP was $ 1.7 billion (about $ 49,980 per capita), and the real GDP was $ 1.3 billion (about $ 39,745 per capita) in chained 2017 dollars . As of April 2024 , some of the largest employers in the county include AmeriGas , the city of Hardeeville , Publix , and Walmart . CSX Transportation 's Charleston Subdivision (also known as

1156-438: Was named after William Jasper. The county seat is Ridgeland while the largest community is Hardeeville. The county is also in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area . For several decades, in contrast to neighboring Beaufort County , Jasper was one of the poorest counties in the state. Recent development from 2000 onwards has given the county new residents, expanded business opportunities, and

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