It’s hard to go far in rural Williamsburg County, S.C., without encountering a “Jesus Loves You” or “Trust Jesus” sign such as this one taken in September 2010 in the Cedar Swamp community.
Retired editor Linda W. Brown tells us the story behind these signs: “They were the work of the late Jimmie Stephenson, who was a sign painter by profession, but had a Bible Study and maybe a small regular congregation, as well.”
Just under 34,000 people live in Williamsburg County, which is about the number who lived there in 1900, according to Census figures. Population peaked in 1950 at 43,807, but has dropped slowly since then.
About two-thirds of county residents are black, with almost all of those remaining being white. Only 2 percent of those in the county are of Hispanic descent. Some 32.8 percent of residents live in poverty, according to the Census. Of the county’s 1,921 firms, 36.5 percent are black-owned — a percentage that is three times South Carolina’s average.
Photo taken September 2010 by Linda W. Brown. All rights reserved.