61-494: Interstate 526 ( I-526 ) is a 19.56-mile (31.48 km) auxiliary route of I-26 , providing a partial beltway around Charleston , South Carolina , in the United States . The route serves several purposes, firstly, as a bypass for through traffic on U.S. Route 17 (US 17) to avoid downtown Charleston, and, secondly, for traffic on I-26 bound for the coastal towns located north and south of Charleston. The route
122-474: A loop route ) completely surrounds a metropolitan city, and it is often connected with multiple junctions to other routes. Unlike other auxiliary Interstate Highways (and by extension, all primary Interstate Highways ), beltways do not have termini; however, they have a place where the highway mileage resets to zero. Beltways are also preceded by an even number in the first digit. Some examples of beltways include: Georgetown, South Carolina Georgetown
183-735: A crop as before 1860. By the time the Reconstruction period ended, the area's economy was shifting to harvesting and processing wood products. By 1900 several lumber mills were operating on the Sampit River . The largest was the Atlantic Coast Lumber Company ; its mill in Georgetown was the largest lumber mill on the East Coast at the time. In 1900, a Georgetown constable's efforts to arrest barber John Brownfield for refusing to pay
244-470: A female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
305-685: A fire engulfed seven historic buildings on 700 Block of Front Street. The fire raged for hours while over 200 firefighters from ten departments and the United States Coast Guard fought to contain the blaze. Heritage tourism has become a booming business in Georgetown, supporting much retail activity. In addition, many retirees have chosen to settle in this area of beaches, plantations redeveloped as residential communities, and pleasant climate. From 2016 to 2021, housing prices in Georgetown have risen 38 percent. On January 18, 2018, long-time Democratic City Councilman Brendon Moses Barber, Sr.
366-466: A handsome combination post office and customs house. Like most cities, Georgetown suffered economic deprivation during the Great Depression . The Atlantic Coast Lumber Company went bankrupt early in the depression, putting almost everyone out of work. Businesses related to the mills also lost revenues and had to lay off employees, with a cascading effect through the city. In 1936 help arrived, when
427-490: A harbor. U.S. Routes 17 , 17A , 521 , and 701 meet in the center of Georgetown. US 17 leads southwest 60 miles (97 km) to Charleston and northeast 34 miles (55 km) to Myrtle Beach , US 701 leads north 36 miles (58 km) to Conway , US 521 leads northwest 82 miles (132 km) to Sumter , and US 17A leads west 32 miles (51 km) to Jamestown . As of the 2020 United States census , there were 8,403 people, 3,649 households, and 2,256 families residing in
488-540: A major disaster struck the area with Hurricane Hugo struck south of Georgetown. Its extremely hard winds and an intense storm surge along the rivers flooded and damaged Georgetown and nearby areas. As Georgetown was under Hugo's northern eyewall , it suffered winds more severe and damaging than in Charleston , which was in the hurricane's weak corridor. In recent years, the economy has become more diversified. The GST Steel Company declared bankruptcy in 2001, first closing
549-471: A partial cloverleaf interchange with US 17 (Johnnie Dodds Boulevard). The highway continues as I-526 Bus., a four-lane highway that follows Chuck Dawley Boulevard to SC 703 in the center of Mount Pleasant. All of I-526 is included as part of the National Highway System , a system of roadways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility. Planning of the freeway dates back to
610-453: A poll tax resulted in a scuffle and his death in a shooting. White supremacists called for lynching and a tense period followed including appeals of Brownfield's murder conviction by an all-white jury with ties to the deceased and his family. Around 1905, "Georgetown reached its peak as a lumber port", according to the historian Mac McAlister. Jim Crow laws excluded African Americans from taking part in elections and from holding office. As
671-454: A revolt of the slaves. The Africans escaped and joined members of the indigenous Cofitachequi chiefdom in the area, people of the late Mississippian culture . The next settlement in the area was made by English colonists. After settling Charles Town in 1670, the English established trade with regional Indian tribes . Trading posts in outlying areas quickly developed as settlements. By 1721
SECTION 10
#1733086150718732-485: A subset of highways within the United States' Interstate Highway System . The 323 auxiliary routes generally fall into three types: spur routes , which connect to or intersect the parent route at one end; bypasses , which connect to the parent route at both ends; and beltways , which form a circle that intersects the parent route at two locations. Some routes connect to the parent route at one end but to another route at
793-446: A typical 3-digit Interstate Highway, bypasses usually have both its two termini junctioned with another Interstate highway. Bypass routes are preceded by an even number in the first digit. Examples include: In the case of an auxiliary Interstate highway which has both ends at Interstates but not the same Interstate, some states treat these as bypasses while others treat these as spurs—see Spur route above. A beltway (also known as
854-406: Is not yet complete, as the western terminus it is planned for the route to be extended an additional 10 miles (16 km). After the eastern terminus, the roadway continues as a short business route , known as Interstate 526 Business (I-526 Bus.). I-526 begins at an incomplete interchange with US 17 (Savannah Highway) and South Carolina Highway 7 (SC 7, Sam Rittenberg Boulevard) in
915-431: Is the largest. Beginning in the colonial era, Georgetown was the commercial center of an indigo - and rice-producing area. Rice replaced indigo as the chief commodity crop in the antebellum area. Later the timber industry became important here. Georgetown is located at 33°22′3″N 79°17′38″W / 33.36750°N 79.29389°W / 33.36750; -79.29389 (33.367434, −79.293807). According to
976-579: Is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County , in the Lowcountry . As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,163. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Black , Great Pee Dee , Waccamaw , and Sampit rivers, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina, handling over 960,000 tons of materials a year, while Charleston
1037-423: Is usually one of the following: Examples include: Sometimes, a three-digit Interstate Highway branches off from another three-digit Interstate Highway. These spurs do not connect directly with their parent highways, but are associated with them via the three-digit highways they do intersect with. Examples include: A bypass route may traverse around a city, or may run through it with the mainline bypassing. In
1098-718: The Continental Army during the American Revolution. His descendants became prominent planters, lawyers, judges and businessmen in Georgetown and Charleston. During the Civil War , the Confederate army built a fort and installed two camps near Georgetown at Murrells Inlet . Fort Ward was in service beginning in 1861, but it was abandoned and disarmed in March 1862. Its exact location is unknown due to shifting sandbars and erosion in
1159-638: The Family Circle Cup . I-526 continues southeast across the Wando River on the James B. Edwards Bridge back into Charleston County and the town of Mount Pleasant . The freeway has a partial cloverleaf interchange with Long Point Road and curves south at Hobcaw Creek. I-526 has a partial flyover interchange to and from US 17 in the direction of Georgetown before the Interstate reaches its eastern terminus at
1220-630: The General William C. Westmoreland Bridge to cross the Ashley River into the city of North Charleston. The freeway has diamond interchanges with Leeds Avenue and SC 642 (Dorchester Road) and crosses over CSX 's Charleston Subdivision . I-526 continues through a connected pair of half-diamond interchanges with Montague Avenue and International Boulevard. Both streets lead to the North Charleston Coliseum and Charles Towne Square ;
1281-486: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19.5 km ), of which 6.9 square miles (17.9 km ) are land and 0.62 square miles (1.6 km ), or 8.06%, is water. Winyah Bay formed from a submergent or drowned coastline. The original rivers had a lower baseline , but either the ocean rose or the land sank, flooding the river valleys and making a good location for
SECTION 20
#17330861507181342-694: The West Ashley section of the city of Charleston, just north of the Stono River . The interchange includes a loop ramp from northbound US 17, a ramp from southbound US 17, and a half- diamond interchange with SC 7. The four-lane freeway heads north past the Citadel Mall and meets SC 461 at a partial cloverleaf interchange. SC 461 heads west as Glenn McConnell Parkway and east as Paul Cantrell Boulevard; both directions lead to SC 61 (Ashley River Road). I-526 crosses SC 61 and uses
1403-473: The poverty line , including 34.9% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over. In 1526 a Spanish expedition under Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón founded a colony on Waccamaw Neck called San Miguel de Guadalupe . The settlers included enslaved Africans, and was the first European settlement in North America with African slaves. The colony failed for multiple reasons, including a fever epidemic and
1464-416: The 1870s, adding to pressures on agriculture. In the antebellum years, the profits from Georgetown's rice trade also buoyed the economy of the nearby city and port of Charleston, where a thriving mercantile economy developed. With profits from rice, planters bought products from Charleston artisans: fine furniture, jewelry, and silver, to satisfy their refined tastes. Joshua John Ward was a planter who owned
1525-512: The 1960s; construction on the first section began in 1979. Opened in 1982 as an unnumbered freeway, it traversed from Ashley River Road ( SC 61 ) to Leeds Avenue, crossing over the Ashley River . In 1985, the freeway became SC 31 , connecting US 17 / SC 7 to Dorchester Road ( SC 642 ). By 1987, it extended to International Boulevard, providing access to the Charleston International Airport . In 1989,
1586-623: The 2021 municipal elections, Georgetown elected its first Republican-majority city council in its history. On January 3, 2022, city councilwoman Carol Jayroe was sworn in as the Mayor of Georgetown, having defeated incumbent Democratic mayor Brendon Barber. She is the first woman and the first Republican to hold the mayoralty in Georgetown’s history. "Post and Courier" . January 4, 2022. In September 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall near Georgetown. On October 31, 2024, International Paper announced
1647-560: The 526-extension project. As of May 2023, they are aiming to start construction by 2025. In December 2023, the South Carolina Joint Bond Review Committee approved the state's Transportation Infrastructure Bank's action Tuesday afternoon of providing $ 75 million for preliminary costs in the project, which is dubbed the Mark Clark Extension Project . Interstate 526 Business ( I-526 Bus. ), per
1708-715: The Cooper River on the high-level Don N. Holt Bridge and enters the Daniel Island section of the city of Charleston in Berkeley County . The freeway has partial cloverleaf interchanges on either side of Beresford Creek with Clements Ferry Road and Seven Farms Drive/River Landing Drive. Both interchanges lead to Blackbaud Stadium , home of the Charleston Battery , and the Family Circle Tennis Center , home of
1769-509: The Kansas City plant. In 2003 it closed the South Carolina plant. The Georgetown plant has subsequently reopened under ownership of ArcelorMittal . Due to the influx of cheap foreign steel into the United States, the plant closed its doors again in August 2015. On May 19, 2017, Mayor Jack Scoville announced that ArcelorMittal had agreed to sell the mill to Liberty Steel. On September 25, 2013,
1830-621: The Lowcountry, plantation owners developed large plantations and cultivated indigo as the cash commodity crop, with rice as a secondary crop. Both were labor-intensive and dependent on enslaved Africans and African Americans , the former imported from Africa in the Atlantic slave trade . Agricultural profits were so great between 1735 and 1775 that in 1757 the Winyah Indigo Society , whose members paid dues in indigo, opened and maintained
1891-667: The South Carolina Department of Transportation South Carolina Highway 526 Spur , is a 1.57-mile (2.53 km) four-lane boulevard -grade business spur of I-526 along Chuck Dawley Boulevard between Johnnie Dodds Boulevard ( US 17 ) and Ben Sawyer Boulevard ( SC 703 ). I-526 Bus. is not part of the National Highway System . The entire route is in Mount Pleasant , Charleston County . List of auxiliary Interstate Highways Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways ) are
Interstate 526 - Misplaced Pages Continue
1952-845: The Southern Kraft Division of International Paper opened a mill; by 1944 it was the largest in the world. From the mid-20th century, the city developed more industry. In 1973, the Korf company of Germany founded a steel mill in town. in 1993, the steel mill was financed by Bain Capital and was called Georgetown Steel, which became GST Steel Company with its sister Kansas City Bolt and Nut Company plant in Kansas City, Missouri . In 1978, Sigma Chemical Company founded its third chemical plant (the other 2 being in Italy) in Georgetown. In September 1989,
2013-495: The U.S. Routes as a viaduct above wetlands along Filbin Creek. The viaduct crosses over the CSX rail line again and has a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with Rhett Avenue and a half-diamond interchange with Virginia Avenue. The Rhett Avenue interchange includes a U-turn ramp that allows access from westbound I-526 to Virginia Avenue and from the avenue to eastbound I-526. I-526 crosses
2074-455: The abolition of slavery and transformation to a free labor market in the South so changed the economics of rice production as to make the labor-intensive process unprofitable. The soft silt soil of the South Carolina low country required harvesting rice by hand. In addition, the disruption and destruction of the war delayed the resumption of agriculture in the South. Nationally, the economy struggled in
2135-437: The area have fought against the completion of I-526, which will connect both James Island and Johns Island . Approximately 10 miles (16 km) separate the eastern terminus of I-526's current extent from the eastern terminus of SC 30. The mileage markers and exit numbers on both SC 30 and I-526 are based on an eventual merging of the routes, with miles 1 to 3 occurring on SC 30 and miles 10 to 30 used on
2196-430: The area in an effort to reunite families separated by the domestic slave trade. Many families withdrew women and children from working as field laborers. Many freedmen families wanted to work for themselves as subsistence farmers , rather than work in gangs for major plantation owners. Rice continued to be grown commercially until about 1910, but the market had changed. It was never as important economically or as profitable
2257-410: The area. Confederate camps Lookout and Waccamaw were also located near Georgetown. Camp Waccamaw was in use from 1862 until 1864; Company E, 4th SC Cavalry were garrisoned at the camp. At least one soldier died there in 1862, probably from disease. Additional fortifications were built at Battery White , located south of the town to protect the harbor and Winyah Bay. Construction during 1862-1863 on
2318-525: The cannon emplacement resulted in a well-built and situated set of fortifications which did not see action until 1864 when it was captured by Union Forces. Georgetown and Georgetown County suffered terribly during the Reconstruction Era because of its reliance on agriculture, for which the national market was low. The rice crops of 1866 to 1888 were failures due to lack of capital, which prevented adequate preparation for new crops; inclement weather; and
2379-447: The city was 57.03% African American (56.7 percent in 2010), 40.99% White (37.8 percent in 2010), 0.12% Native American , 0.31% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.84% from other races , and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population. There were 3,411 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 25.1% had
2440-408: The city. As of the census of 2010, there were 9,163 people in Georgetown, an increase of 2.4 percent over the 2000 population of 8,950. In 2000, there were 3,411 households, and 2,305 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,368.1 inhabitants per square mile (528.2/km ). There were 3,856 housing units at an average density of 589.4 per square mile (227.6/km ). The racial makeup of
2501-1267: The closing of their Georgetown plant by the end of 2024, causing the loss of 526 hourly jobs and 148 salaried employees. Today, the Georgetown Historic District contains more than fifty homes, public buildings, and sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Other sites on the National Register include Annandale Plantation , Arcadia Plantation , Battery White , Belle Isle Rice Mill Chimney , Beneventum Plantation House , Black River Plantation House , Brookgreen Gardens , Chicora Wood Plantation , Fairfield Rice Mill Chimney , Friendfield Plantation , Georgetown Light , Hobcaw Barony , Hopsewee , Keithfield Plantation , Mansfield Plantation , Milldam Rice Mill and Rice Barn , Minim Island Shell Midden (38GE46) , Nightingale Hall Rice Mill Chimney , Old Market Building , Pee Dee River Rice Planters Historic District , Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church , Joseph H. Rainey House , Rural Hall Plantation House , Weehaw Rice Mill Chimney , Wicklow Hall Plantation , and Winyah Indigo School . Georgetown High School
Interstate 526 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2562-521: The colonial government granted the English residents' petition to found a new parish, Prince George, Winyah , on the Black River . In 1734, Prince George, Winyah was divided; and the newly created Prince Frederick Parish congregation occupied the church at Black River. Prince George Parish, Winyah encompassed the new town of Georgetown that was developing on the Sampit River . In 1729, Elisha Screven laid
2623-410: The current I-526 route. The proposed missing section of I-526 was the subject of an environmental study that was completed in early 2014. Various alternative routings and options are being reviewed, but the general plan is to extend south from US 17 to Johns Island and then east to James Island , where it will connect with SC 30 (possibly renumbering it). Some alternatives shown include
2684-512: The entire plantation society, including the lives and skills of enslaved African Americans. Georgetown's thriving economy long attracted settlers from elsewhere, including numerous planters and shipowners who migrated from Virginia . These included the Shackelford family, whose migrant ancestor John Shackelford moved to Georgetown in the late eighteenth century after serving in the Virginia forces of
2745-528: The first public school for white children between Charles Town and Wilmington . By the early 19th century, rice replaced indigo as the chief commodity crop. It became a staple of regional diets as well, becoming characteristic in the area. In the American Revolution , the Georgetown planter, Thomas Lynch Jr. , signed the Declaration of Independence . During the final years of the conflict, Georgetown
2806-563: The freeway was rechristened as I-526 after it connected with I-26 (exit 212). In 1992, I-526 was extended east over the Cooper River to Daniel Island , then over the Wando River to Mount Pleasant and its current eastern terminus with US 17 and I-526 Bus. In 1993, the Robert B. Scarborough Bridge was opened, connecting downtown Charleston with James Island ; it is signed as SC 30 . Since 1993, several residents and groups in
2867-444: The latter one is the access road for Charleston International Airport. The Interstate curves east and reaches its junction with I-26, which is a cloverleaf interchange except for a flyover ramp from eastbound I-526 to westbound I-26. I-526 crosses over Norfolk Southern Railway 's SC Line and has a partial cloverleaf interchange with Rivers Avenue, which carries US 52 and US 78 . The Interstate continues from its overpass of
2928-644: The most slaves in the US – eventually more than 1,000 slaves on several plantations; he lived in a townhouse in Georgetown. Many of the historic plantation houses are still standing today, including Mansfield Plantation on the banks of the Black River . Joshua Ward's main Brookgreen Plantation is the center and namesake of the Brookgreen Gardens park. Since the late 20th century, historic societies and independent plantations have worked to present more of
2989-433: The numbers can repeat from state to state along their route, but they will not repeat within a state. There are three states that have no auxiliary Interstate Highways: Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico. North Dakota has an auxiliary route, but it is unsigned , and Wyoming's does not meet Interstate Highway standards. Auxiliary Interstates are divided into three types: spur , loop , and bypass routes. The first digit of
3050-687: The other end; some states treat these as spurs while others treat them as bypasses. Like the primary Interstate Highways , auxiliary highways meet Interstate Highway standards (with rare exceptions ). The shorter auxiliary routes branch from primary routes; their numbers are based on the parent route's number. All of the supplement routes for Interstate 95 (I-95) are designated with a three-digit number ending in "95": I-x95. With some exceptions, spur routes are numbered with an odd hundreds digit (such as I-395 ), while bypasses and beltways are numbered with an even hundreds digit (such as I-695 ). Because longer Interstates may have many such supplemental routes,
3111-482: The plan for Georgetown and developed the city in a four-by-eight block grid. The original grid city is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places . It bears the original street names, lot numbers, and has many original homes. Soon after Georgetown was established, the Indian trade declined. Many traders made longer trips to the interior of the upper rivers, for instance to Cherokee Country. In
SECTION 50
#17330861507183172-449: The planters' struggle to find Black American laborers. Several African Americans from Georgetown represented Georgetown County in the state legislature during the Reconstruction era including Joseph Haynes Rainey , Bruce H. Williams , Charles H. Sperry , Charles Samuel Green , and James A. Bowley . A fusion arrangement was reached in 1880 and Republican African Americans and white Democrats appointed officials. Some freedmen left
3233-485: The possibility that it will be built in expressway grade instead, falling short of being labeled an Interstate Highway. Citing Charleston County's inability to provide funds to cover the project's increased cost, the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (SIB) board voted on May 26, 2016, to abandon the proposed extension of I-526 across James and Johns Islands. In 2021, SCDOT revived
3294-489: The rice fields during cultivation. Large rice plantations were established around Georgetown along its five rivers. Planters often had chosen to import slaves from rice-growing regions of West Africa, as they knew the technology for cultivation and processing. By 1840, the Georgetown District (later County) produced nearly one-half of the total rice crop of the United States. It became the largest rice-exporting port in
3355-422: The standard numbering guidelines exist for a number of reasons. In some cases, original routes were changed, extended, or abandoned, leaving discrepancies in the system. In other cases, it may not be possible to use the proper number because the limited set of available numbers has been exhausted, causing a "non-standard" number to be used. A spur route 's number usually has an odd number for its first digit. It
3416-509: The three digits usually signifies whether a route is a bypass, spur, or beltway. The last two digits are derived from the main Interstate Highway. For instance, I-115 contains an odd number in the first digit (1), which indicates that this freeway is a spur. The last two digits signify the highway's origin. In this case, the "15" in I-115 shows that it is a supplement to I-15 . Exceptions to
3477-406: The twentieth century dawned, Georgetown under the leadership of Mayor William Doyle Morgan began to modernize. The city added electricity, telephone service, sewer facilities, rail connections, some paved streets and sidewalks, new banks, a thriving port, and a new public school for white students. Public schools were segregated and black schools were historically underfunded. The US government built
3538-466: The world. Wealth from the rice created an elite European-American planter class; they built stately plantation manor houses and often also had townhouses in the city, bought elegant furniture and other furnishings, and extended generous hospitality to others of their class. Their relatively leisured lifestyle for a select few, built on the labor of thousands of slaves, was disrupted by the Civil War. Afterward
3599-408: Was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 29,424, and the median income for a family was $ 34,747. Males had a median income of $ 27,545 versus $ 19,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 14,568. About 19.9% of families and 24.1% of the population were below
3660-474: Was inaugurated as Mayor of Georgetown; he is the first African-American mayor of the city. The City of Georgetown has always elected Democratic mayors, even as the make-up of the major parties has realigned since the late 20th century. As of 2019, brackish water incursions into the Waccamaw River near Georgetown due to rising sea levels are increasing the risk of exposure to toxic vibrio bacteria. In
3721-491: Was the important port for supplying General Nathanael Greene 's army. Francis Marion (the "Swamp Fox") led many guerrilla actions in the vicinity. Georgetown had a large population of Jewish-Americans in the early 1800s. Following the American Revolution, rice surpassed indigo as the staple crop. It was cultivated in the swampy lowlands along the rivers, where enslaved African and African-American laborers built large earthworks : dams, gates and canals to irrigate and drain
SECTION 60
#1733086150718#717282