The Story Behind This Tiny Town In South Carolina Is Unforgettable

Even after Allendale, South Carolina was cast into the dismal national spotlight of author Paul Thoreaux in his 2015 book entitled, Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads, this small town remains stoic and determined to prevail.

A year earlier, Smithsonian Magazine published an article that appears to be a preview of the book. In the article, Thoreaux creates a dark melancholy canvas of Allendale, painted in browns, greys and intense blacks leading readers to believe that Allendale, South Carolina is all but dead.

The article titled, Exploring the American Experience: The Soul of the South, seems mostly based on a drive Thoreaux took on US Highway 301. The journey carried him into Allendale where he made visual observations and stopped to talk to a few of the town's people.

Thoreaux, born in Massachusetts, has a unique perspective on towns like little Allendale here in the South. It's the perspective of someone from the North. (Not that there's anything wrong with being from the North...) Thoreaux's Wikipedia page lists his current state(s) of residence as Hawaii and Massachusetts.

Sure Sherman burned her to the ground, and yes the decline of the cotton industry has taken its toll on Allendale. But an even bigger and more recent turn of events really did the damage that is taking decades from which to recover.

Buildings are closed and yes, some are abandoned. But what would you expect? Should Allendale disassemble the buildings or destroy them just because they're empty? And does having empty, decaying real estate put Allendale in the category of "ghost towns?" We think not.

The fact is, in the last 20 years Allendale has made great strides in bouncing back from the dismal conditions resulting from the loss of tourism in the 1960s. And although Allendale County ranks in the top 10 poorest counties in South Carolina, the Town of Allendale also has a cost of living that is 20% lower than the rest of the state, according to the website city-data.com. It costs less to live in Allendale than most any other place in South Carolina. This may be evidenced in the fact that in spite of the financial ruins suffered by the people in Allendale throughout the 20th century, the population continued to grow until the year 2000, according to U.S. Census figures.

Additionally in 1998, as part of their planned recovery, Allendale created the Salkehatchie Leadership Institute. According to this summary, the institute has trained more than 2,000 people who have since become elected officials or are serving in roles of economic development throughout the U.S.