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“C” is for Clemson

“C” is for Clemson (Pickens County; 2020 population 17,780). This college town began as town of Calhoun around a railroad depot. Incorporated in 1892, it was located about a mile from the new campus of Clemson Agricultural College. Due to confusion caused by the simultaneous existence of post offices named Calhoun and Calhoun Falls in other parts of the state. In 1943, a residents’ petition resulted in a vote to change the name to Town of Clemson. During the 1960s Clemson tripled in area due to an aggressive annexation policy. And, the population grew nearly 600 percent between 1960 and 1995. The Clemson area Chamber of Commerce adopted “In season every season” as its slogan, emphasizing that Clemson had more to offer than football games, and that they were always willing to roll out the orange carpet.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.