Vaucluse, South Carolina
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Aiken County
Aiken County, South Carolina
Aiken County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,552; in 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 160,099...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. It is located at 33°36′45"N 81°48′35"W. Vaucluse is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
Three miles from Graniteville
Graniteville, South Carolina
Graniteville is an unincorporated community in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. It lies along U.S. 1, five miles west of Aiken. The town lies in Horse Creek Valley which originates in the nearby town of Vaucluse....
and 6 miles (9.7 km) from Aiken
Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken is a city in and the county seat of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. With Augusta, Georgia, it is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is home to the University of South...
, Vaucluse is the site of the pioneering Horse Creek Valley
Horse Creek Valley
Horse Creek Valley is a geographic area along Horse Creek, a tributary of the Savannah River. It lays within present day Aiken County, South Carolina . Presently, this area is alternately referred to as 'Midland Valley'...
textile mill. Employing 50 'operatives' on 1500 spindles and 25 looms, the mill was incorporated by local planter Christian Breithaupt in 1833, with later investors George McDuffie
George McDuffie
George McDuffie was the 55th Governor of South Carolina and a member of the United States Senate.Born of modest means in Columbia County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed while clerking at a store in Augusta, Georgia...
, John Bauskett, and William Gregg
William Gregg (industrialist)
William Gregg was an ardent advocate of industrialization in antebellum Southern United States. In 1847 he founded the successful Graniteville Company, a large scale Horse Creek Valley, South Carolina cotton mill....
. Gregg found it under-capitalized and too small for economic survival, producing an unmanageable variety of products, and suffering due to a lack of active management. As such it served Gregg as a training ground for his successful Graniteville
Graniteville, South Carolina
Graniteville is an unincorporated community in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. It lies along U.S. 1, five miles west of Aiken. The town lies in Horse Creek Valley which originates in the nearby town of Vaucluse....
project of 1847.
Gregg observed 'the most indifferent overseer's house in Lowel
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
[Massachusetts], at least such as I saw, cost more than the whole village of Vaucluse, containing upwards of 200 inhabitants including a comfortable dwelling recently built as a residence for one of its owners'. The existing mill building ca. 1880 employed 300 operators on 10,000 spindles under ownership of the Graniteville Company until its recent closure. The Vaucluse Mill Village Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Demographics
As of 2000, the population of the community consists of 89 people. 100% White, non of which are Hispanic. Please note, that this is just the data for the census tract, and may not be indictive of the entire communityhttp://www.zipskinny.com/index.php?zip=29850Incorporation
There have been talks about incorporating the villages of GranitevilleGraniteville, South Carolina
Graniteville is an unincorporated community in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. It lies along U.S. 1, five miles west of Aiken. The town lies in Horse Creek Valley which originates in the nearby town of Vaucluse....
, Vaucluse, and, Warrenville
Warrenville, South Carolina
Warrenville is an unincorporated community in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States, near Graniteville. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area...
, recently, the towns approved a referendum to vote on whether or not to incorporate.http://www.masc.sc/Municipal%20News/111607_Aiken_Standard_Petitions_put_GVW_closer_to_being_city.htm If approved, the municipality would be around 20 sq. miles http://www.aikenstandard.com/homepage/292568584395065.php. Vaucluse has been the only one of the towns where a significant proportion of the population is against the incorporation. Many cite the fact that it would only include half of the village (the proposed municipal limits have to have a population density of three hundred, and using the other half of the village would make it impossible to incorporate)http://www.aikenstandard.com/homepage/311592674975197.php