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The Town of Alcolu was founded in 1885 as a mill town for Alderman Lumber Company. The name Alcolu is derived from "Al" as in Alderman, "Co" as in Coldwell (a friend), and "Lu" as in Lula, the only daughter of the Aldermans at that time. In 1947 the mill was sold by the Alderman family to Williams Furniture Company. Williams merged with Georgia Pacific in 1968.
The company store was built in 1914 and was used an an antique store for many years. Like any good company town, everyone worked at the mill, was paid in "babbit" (metal coins stamped with the company logo), and went to the company store
to buy groceries, see the doctor or watch a show in the 200 seat theater upstairs.
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Today Alcolu is a rural community with very little commerce. The old train tracks are still there from the mill's heyday but Main Street is virtually a ghost town with a few houses, a church, and the old company store. The closest town is Manning and the city nearest Alcolu is Florence. Still relatively untouched by the population growth that has hit South Carolina over the last decade, Alcolu
has a population of less than 200 and rather resembles a ghost town. With an excellent location along I-95 at exit 122, and a low cost of living, one would expect to see growth in the community over the next five to ten years.
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Statistics & Facts
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The population of Alcolu is less than 200.
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The distance to Columbia, the South Carolina state capital is 50 miles.
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Alcolu is located in Clarendon County, SC and in between Manning and Sumter, SC.
- The latitude of Alcolu is 33.750N. The longitude is -80.214W.
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History & Trivia
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Alcolu, SC Directory of businesses, hotels, churches, and restaurants.
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| Peggy Parish, creator of the Amelia Bedelia book series, is from Alcolu, although she is normally credited as being from nearby Manning. |
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Five of South Carolina's governors were born and raised in Clarendon County.
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| Back in 1944, the town of Alcolu was shaken to the core when two young girls left to pick flowers along the railroad tracks and were brutally murdered. Crime Library has the complete story. |
| View a gallery of Scenes From Alcolu, SC. |
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Government and Local Information
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Clarendon County
111 South Brooks Street
Post Office Box 486
Manning, SC 29102
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Clarendon County Sheriff's Office
217 Commerce Street
Post Office Box 1289
Manning SC 29102
803-435-4414
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Clarendon County School District 2
P.O. Box 1252
15 Major Drive
Manning, SC 29102
803-435-4435
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