Summerton, South Carolina

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Coordinates: 33°36′19″N 80°21′8″W / 33.60528, -80.35222
Summerton, South Carolina
Location of Summerton, South Carolina
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Clarendon
Area
- Total	1.2 sq mi (3.0 km²)
- Land	1.2 sq mi (3.0 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	138 ft (42 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,061
- Density	919.3/sq mi (355.0/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	29148
Area code(s)	803
FIPS code	45-70225^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1251072^[2]

Summerton is a town in Clarendon County, South Carolina, in the United States. The population was 1,061 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Summerton is at 33°36′19″N, 80°21′8″W (33.605145, -80.352159)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (3.0 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,061 people, 452 households, and 285 families residing in the town. The population density was 919.3 people per square mile (356.2/km²). There were 516 housing units at an average density of 447.1/sq mi (173.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 39.77% White, 57.21% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 1.41% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population.

There were 452 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 24.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 73.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,563, and the median income for a family was $34,038. Males had a median income of $34,500 versus $18,906 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,284. About 18.4% of families and 25.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 24.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Summerton is the source of Briggs v. Elliott (Court citation:347 US 483). Briggs was the first filed of the four cases combined into Brown v. Board of Education, the famous case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1954, officially overturned racial segregation in U.S. public schools.

Despite the outcome of Briggs and Brown, as of 2004 Summerton's schools remain effectively segregated, with nearly all white students now attending the private Clarendon Hall, leaving the public schools almost entirely African-American. As of 2004, 95% of public high school students at Scotts Branch High are black, despite 40% white population in the community. [1] [2]

As of 2004 only 30% of the students at Summerton's Scott Branch High School took the SAT, and their composite scores were among the lowest in the state. [3] Approximately 50% of Summerton public school students met standard on the State high school exit exam as of 2003. [4] Scott's Branch's 761 SAT average is 228 points below the South Carolina average of 989, while Clarendon Hall, a local private school, had an average of 978 that does not meet the statewide average either, 11 points away. http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/72088