Lexington South Carolina
Is Lexington SC good place to live?
Lexington is in Lexington County and is one of the best places to live in South Carolina. Living in Lexington offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Lexington there are a lot of parks. Many families and young professionals live in Lexington and residents tend to lean conservative.
Is Lexington SC wealthy?
The per capita income in Lexington in 2018 was $33,284, which is wealthy relative to South Carolina, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $133,136 for a family of four. However, Lexington contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
How far is Lexington SC to the beach?
The total driving distance from Lexington, SC to Myrtle Beach, SC is 163 miles
Why are people moving to Lexington SC?
The biggest driver of the population and housing boom in Lexington, South Carolina has to be the top-rated schools. Parents, and even young professionals who think they may want to have children one day want to live where they can have the best schools in Lexington County and the best schools in the Columbia area.
What is Lexington SC known for?
The Town of Lexington has continued to be the political center of Lexington County, one of the fastest growing areas of the nation. With new major highways passing nearby, the town continues to experience phenomenal growth. The people of Lexington are proud of their past and look forward to a promising future.
What type of town is Lexington SC?
Town of Lexington
Located in the midlands of South Carolina, Lexington is a suburb of the state's capital and second-largest city, Columbia.
Is Lexington SC diverse?
The 5 largest ethnic groups in Lexington, SC are White (Non-Hispanic) (76.5%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (11.1%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (4.36%), White (Hispanic) (3.97%), and Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (2.05%). 0% of the households in Lexington, SC speak a non-English language at home as their primary language.
The historic town of Lexington, South Carolina is a direct descendant of the old Royal township of Saxe Gotha. This township was 1 of 11 established in 1735 by the Colonial government of King George II to encourage settlement of back-country South Carolina and serve as a protective buffer between powerful Indian tribes to the west and the older settled plantations of the low country. The name Saxe Gotha was in honor of the marriage of the British Prince of Wales to Princess Augusta of the German State of Saxe Gotha.
Trading Trails
The territory of colonial Saxe Gotha covered most of present day Lexington County, and was traversed by 2 important early Indian trails:
Cherokee Path which followed roughly modern U.S. Highway Number 378
Occaneechi Path, today U.S. Highway Number 1
These ancient trading paths and the highways that later developed from them have had an enormous impact on the historical development of the area. Most of the early settlers came from various cantons, principalities and city-states of Germany and Switzerland. Others came down from Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Despite the disruptive Cherokee Indian War of 1760 and the "Regulator" unrest that followed, the township flourished as a largely self-sufficient area of small scale farming operations. Major crops in the 18th Century included corn, wheat, tobacco, hemp, flax, beeswax and livestock.
American Revolution
During the American Revolution several skirmishes occurred in the area. The Battle of Tarrar Springs was fought just 1 mile east of Lexington on November 16, 1781.
County Establishment
In 1785 Lexington County was established, changing the name from Saxe Gotha to Lexington in honor of the Massachusetts Revolutionary War battle. The county's first courthouse was built at Granby, located just south of present day Cayce.
Flooding
With the clearing of upriver lands for the spreading cotton culture, Granby became plagued with floods. The county seat was moved in 1820 when the present town of Lexington was laid out on a high, healthy sand ridge near Twelve Mile Creek. The town was known as Lexington Courthouse throughout the 19th Century since in the first few years of its existence there was only the courthouse with few residences.
Town Development
By 1861, when it was incorporated as a town, Lexington boasted a diverse population of lawyers, physicians, tradespeople, artisans and farmers. There were then 2 churches, several schools, a carriage factory, a saw and gristmill, a tannery, livestock yard, tin and blacksmiths, and a weekly newspaper. The major crops of the surrounding countryside were mainly cotton, corn sweet potatoes and lumber. Lexington was not a marketing center for these staples, but did serve as a retail market for manufactured goods purchased wholesale by merchants in nearby Columbia.
Civil War
In 1865 the town was virtually destroyed by occupying Union Army forces guarding General Sherman's western flank. The courthouse, county jail and St. Stephen's Lutheran Church were put to the torch as were most businesses and homes. The devastation and political turmoil of the period were weathered, however, by a frugal people willing to rebuild for a future without abandoning the ideals of their heritage.
Reconstruction
The small farms with their varied crops and the lumber industry stabilized somewhat the economy of the area after Reconstruction years. The completion of the Columbia to Augusta Railroad just after the Civil War and the construction of the Lexington Textile Mill in 1890 contributed greatly to the growth of the town itself. Disastrous fires in 1894 and 1916 on Main Street resulted in the construction of brick buildings, many of which are standing today.
Learn about Lexington SC schools
Modern Lexington
The Town of Lexington has continued to be the political center of Lexington County, one of the fastest growing areas of the nation. With new major highways passing nearby, the town continues to experience phenomenal growth. The people of Lexington are proud of their past and look forward to a promising future.
