Architectural Survey, City of Darlington, South Carolina

Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc.; Griffith, Clayton; Martin, Jennifer; Woodard, Sarah

From introduction: "Architectural historians with Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. undertook the architectural survey of the City of Darlington as part of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History’s Statewide Survey of Historic Places which forms the bedrock of the historic preservation program in the state. The primary objectives of the survey program are to gather, organize and present information about historic properties in photographs, narratives, maps and drawings, in order to identify properties eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and to identify properties eligible for potential local designation. During the survey, the surveyors sought to identify historic resources, record their locations and evaluate their significance in a local, statewide and national context. This project will promote a richer understanding of the city’s historical and architectural development and encourage economic incentives for rehabilitation, cultural tourism development, education and local compliance with state and federal preservation and environmental laws... Most people associate the city of Darlington with the motor speedway established on the edge of town after World War II. The track, a host to sanctioned NASCAR events, has brought this county seat national renown. But the story of the “Pearl of the Pee Dee”, as it is known, involves more than the billion dollar sports industry. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this town brimmed with activity and prosperity. The railroad and the industries it helped to establish served as the center of a regional economy. With its prominent location in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina, Darlington, according to one late nineteenth century observer, was “a progressive little city, favored by nature and improved by art.” The advent of long-haul trucking diminished the role of railroads in transporting goods and led to changes in the landscape of railroad towns across South Carolina. The Highway Department built bypasses around most of the larger rail towns, including Darlington. Communities like Allendale, once a bustling railroad hamlet on US 301, have nearly expired as industries closed or left the town. In Darlington, industrial concerns still operate, but more citizens are employed in the service and professional fields than in the city’s plants. Darlington has managed to retain a busy downtown by avoiding much of the sprawl development common in towns like her. A few fast food restaurants have opened along US 52/401, but large super stores have not been built and as a result, shops downtown appear to thrive. Darlington today stands at a crossroads, both literally and figuratively. The city contains an impressive collection of late nineteenth and twentieth century architecture, but much of it is endangered with the potential to be lost. It is our hope that the city can use this report to recognize and protect its architectural resources and display its heritage to attract visitors who otherwise pass the city on nearby interstates or highways. Funding was provided in part by a 2001 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Darlington (project number SC-01-001) administered by the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Darlington, South Carolina is a Certified Local Government.

Architectural Survey, City of Darlington, South Carolina

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