McClellanville, South Carolina | |
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Town | |
Jeremy Creek at McClellanville; looking upstream
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Location of McClellanville in South Carolina |
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Coordinates: 33°5′20.23″N 79°28′2.23″W / 33.0889528°N 79.4672861°WCoordinates: 33°5′20.23″N 79°28′2.23″W / 33.0889528°N 79.4672861°W | |
Country | United States |
State | South Carolina |
County | Charleston |
Government | |
• Mayor | Rutledge B. Leland III |
Area | |
• Total | 2.4 sq mi (6.1 km2) |
• Land | 2.2 sq mi (5.8 km2) |
• Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
Elevation | 8 ft (2 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 499 |
• Density | 223/sq mi (86.2/km2) |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 29458 |
Area code(s) | 843 |
FIPS code | 45-43585 |
GNIS feature ID | 1252622 |
Website | www |
McClellanville is a small fishing town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 499 at the 2010 census. It is situated on the Atlantic coast, on land surrounded by Francis Marion National Forest, and has traditionally derived its livelihood from the sea and coastal marshes by fishing, shrimping and oystering. McClellanville is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area and the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area.
McClellanville village began in the late 1860s when local plantation owners A.J. McClellan and R.T. Morrison sold lots in the vicinity of Jeremy Creek to planters of the Santee Delta, who sought relief from summer fevers. The first store opened soon after the Civil War, and the village became the social and economic center for a wide area that produced timber, rice, cotton, naval stores, and seafoods. Incorporated in 1926, McClellanville became, and remains, best known for its shrimping fleet and seafood industries.
In 1989 the town was devastated by the full brunt of Hurricane Hugo which destroyed homes, downed century-old oaks, deposited shrimp boats in front yards, and otherwise altered much of the picturesque character of this historic fishing village. The stronger north side of the eyewall passed directly over the village while a Category 4 hurricane. Residents taking refuge in the local high school, a designated storm shelter, were surprised by a storm surge which threatened to drown the refugees. Helping one another in complete darkness, they managed to crawl into a space above the false ceilings of the building and, fortunately, none were lost.
The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Cape Romain Lighthouses, Fairfield Plantation, Hampton Plantation, Harrietta Plantation, McClellanville Historic District, Wedge Plantation, and Old Georgetown Road are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.