McBee, South Carolina

File:McBee to Wagram railroad.jpg

File:McBee History.jpg

McBee was named after a railroad executive, V.E. "Bunch" McBee, born July 26, 1849, in Greenville County, South Carolina. Bunch McBee was one of South Carolina's leading forces in the building of railroads, was responsible for the Columbia to Hamlet, North Carolina, line, which runs through McBee, and was at one time superintendent of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.

In 1900, McBee's first railroad depot was built. About one year later on October 8, 1901, McBee was incorporated. On June 30, 1901, McBee Presbyterian Church was built, the first church in McBee. Six years later in 1907 McBee's second church, McBee Methodist Church, was built.

After the Seaboard's Columbia-to-Cheraw line was completed in 1900, McBee grew so quickly that a new depot became a high priority by the end of the decade. In 1914, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad built a second depot in McBee. This was both a passenger and freight depot until it closed in 1971. Now it is the McBee Depot Library and Railroad Museum. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as the Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot in McBee.[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=28265 Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot; hmdb.org][http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/chesterfield-county/mcbee-library-railroad-museum.html McBee Library and Railroad Museum; sciway.net]{{NRHP url|id=99000103|title=Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot in McBee; NRHP.}} In 1980, the railroad became a subsidiary of the newly created CSX Corporation, and in 1986 the Seaboard name was changed to CSX Transportation.

In 1945, U.S. Route 1 through McBee was named the Blue Star Memorial Highway Number 6.

McBee Rescue was originally formed in 1962 as a joint venture with Jefferson Rescue to fill the need of rescue - ambulance service in the area. The ambulance was rotated between McBee and Jefferson and responded to the appropriate area as needed. The ambulance was originally parked on the street corner in McBee and later at the Health Center prior to constructing the current squad building. Prior to the ambulance, the only means of transport to the hospital was by personal vehicle or by the funeral home hearse, which had to come from Hartsville. Approximately one year later McBee and Jefferson split and formed their own respective squads and each purchased an ambulance.

In 1973, the town of McBee purchased a second engine for the McBee Fire Department. In 1986, Alligator Fire District was formed with McBee Fire Department.

In 2001, McBee celebrated its 100-year anniversary. In 2001 McBee Elementary School was re-modeled. Following the completion of the elementary school, in 2005 McBee High School also was re-modeled. In 2012 McBee built a recreational complex that consists of four baseball diamonds, a football field, a soccer field, a walking trail, and a practice football field. In 2013 McBee launched their official website. Nestle Waters of North American, completed their bottled water facility in 2016, creating 27 jobs in McBee.

McBee is located in southwestern Chesterfield County at {{coord|34|28|4|N|80|15|29|W|type:city}} (34.467803, −80.258075),{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}} in the Sandhills region of the Carolinas. U.S. Route 1 passes through the center of town, leading southwest {{convert|27|mi}} to Camden and northeast {{convert|28|mi}} to Cheraw. South Carolina Highway 151 crosses US 1 in the center of town, leading northwest {{convert|16|mi}} to Jefferson and southeast {{convert|14|mi}} to Hartsville. South Carolina Highway 145 splits off from US 1 just north of McBee and leads {{convert|25|mi}} northeast to Chesterfield, the county seat.

According to the United States Census Bureau, McBee has a total area of {{convert|3.3|sqkm|order=flip}}, all land.

McBee has a humid subtropical climate, characterized by humid summers and cool dry winters. Precipitation does not vary greatly between seasons. July is the hottest month, with an average high temperature of below 91 °F and an average low temperature of around 69 °F.[6] The coldest month of the year is January, when the average high temperature is near 54 °F and the average low temperature is below 32 °F.[6] The warmest temperature ever recorded in the town was 106 °F.[7] The coldest temperature ever recorded in the town was -2 °F.[8] While McBee is near a coastal area, hurricanes are not a major concern, but are possible in this part of South Carolina.

{{Weather box|location = McBee, South Carolina

|single line = y

|Jan high F = 48

|Feb high F = 54

|Mar high F = 65

|Apr high F = 74

|May high F = 80

|Jun high F = 88

|Jul high F = 90

|Aug high F = 89

|Sep high F = 83

|Oct high F = 73

|Nov high F = 58

|Dec high F = 48

|year high F=

|Jan low F = 28

|Feb low F = 32

|Mar low F = 42

|Apr low F = 48

|May low F = 58

|Jun low F = 68

|Jul low F = 70

|Aug low F = 70

|Sep low F = 64

|Oct low F = 52

|Nov low F = 38

|Dec low F = 30

|year low F=

|Jan precipitation inch = 4.64

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.97

|Mar precipitation inch = 5.04

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.33

|May precipitation inch = 3.42

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.33

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.12

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.88

|Sep precipitation inch = 4.68

|Oct precipitation inch = 3.80

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.59

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.52

|precipitation colour = green

|year precipitation inch=

|Jan snow inch = 2.1

|Feb snow inch = 1.9

|Mar snow inch = 1.6

|Apr snow inch = 0

|May snow inch = 0

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0.1

|Nov snow inch = 0.3

|Dec snow inch = 0.9

|year snow inch= 6.9

|Jan precipitation days = 11.2

|Feb precipitation days = 9.3

|Mar precipitation days = 10.8

|Apr precipitation days = 8.6

|May precipitation days = 10.1

|Jun precipitation days = 10.3

|Jul precipitation days = 11.0

|Aug precipitation days = 9.6

|Sep precipitation days = 7.9

|Oct precipitation days = 6.5

|Nov precipitation days = 8.6

|Dec precipitation days = 10.0

|precip days colour = green

|Jan snow days = 1.8

|Feb snow days = 0.8

|Mar snow days = 0.8

|Apr snow days = 0

|May snow days = 0

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0

|Oct snow days = 0.2

|Nov snow days = 0.5

|Dec snow days = 0.8

|unit snow days = 0.3 in

|Jan sun = 173.6

|Feb sun = 180.8

|Mar sun = 235.5

|Apr sun = 270.0

|May sun = 291.4

|Jun sun = 288.0

|Jul sun = 291.5

|Aug sun = 272.8

|Sep sun = 240.0

|Oct sun = 229.4

|Nov sun = 177.0

|Dec sun = 167.4

|year sun= 2817.4

|source 1 = http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/29101

|date=March 2011}}

{{US Census population

|align=right

|1910= 187

|1920= 417

|1930= 514

|1940= 587

|1950= 420

|1960= 512

|1970= 540

|1980= 623

|1990= 715

|2000= 714

|2010= 867

|2020= 758

|align-fn=center

|footnote=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060208103743/http://www.census.gov:80/prod/www/abs/decennial/ U.S. Decennial Census]{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:45&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}

}}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 758 people, 365 households, and 275 families residing in the town.

As of the census of 2010, there were 867 people, 282 households, and 195 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|613.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 329 housing units at an average density of {{convert|282.6|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 53.36% White, 45.52% African American, 0.56% Native American, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

There were 282 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $27,083, and the median income for a family was $34,688. Males had a median income of $28,667 versus $21,500 for females. About 3.1% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.2% of those under age 18 and 28.7% of those age 65 or over.

McBee's public schools are under the jurisdiction of the Chesterfield County School District. The district operates McBee Elementary School and McBee High School.

File:McBee High.jpg

McBee Elementary School is a public secondary school serving grades K through 6 in McBee. The school is located on McBee's West side, near Highway 1. McBee Elementary has an approximate enrollment of 401 and has 15.4 Student to Teacher Ratio, and is one of six elementary schools under the jurisdiction of Chesterfield County Public School District.[http://schools.mychesterfieldcountyschools.com/index.aspx?NID=74 McBee Elementary School Webpage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323141506/http://schools.mychesterfieldcountyschools.com/index.aspx?NID=74 |date=March 23, 2012 }}

McBee High School is a public secondary school serving grades 7 through 12 in McBee. The school is located on McBee's west side, near the intersection of Highways 151 and 1. McBee High has an approximate enrollment of 600 students and is one of four high schools under the jurisdiction of Chesterfield County Public School District.[http://schools.mychesterfieldcountyschools.com/index.aspx?nid=67 McBee High School Webpage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323141409/http://schools.mychesterfieldcountyschools.com/index.aspx?nid=67 |date=March 23, 2012 }}

McBee has a public library, a branch of the Chesterfield County Library System.{{cite web | url=https://www.sciway.net/lib/counties.html | title=South Carolina libraries and archives | publisher=SCIWAY | accessdate=June 8, 2019}}

• 30px South Carolina Highway 151 is a state highway that runs northwest to southeast through the town. McBee is approximately the halfway point between Charlotte and Myrtle Beach.
• 30px U.S. Route 1 runs southwest to northeast through the town. The road runs from Fort Kent, Maine, to Key West, Florida. In 1945, the straight of U.S. Route 1 going through McBee was named a Blue Star Memorial Highway Number 6.

• On January 1, 1900, McBee was reached by the railroad! In September 1899 construction had begun on the Chesterfield and Kershaw Railroad starting in Cheraw. Construction was completed to Camden by May 10, 1900, by the Raleigh and Gaston RR, 55 miles. Both railroad companies were merged into the new Seaboard Air Line Railway November 1, 1901. (Cariker, S. David, 1985, "Railroading in the Carolina Sandhills: Volume 1", page 119.)

• In July 1902 McBee became the starting point of construction of the Columbia, Monroe, and Charlotte Railroad, just south of Poplar Avenue. It was completed in 1903 from McBee to Junction, Diggs, Lee, Clark [Angelus], Miller and Jefferson, 17.16 miles. It came under Seaboard Air Line control April 6, 1914, but never with a profitably year. It operated 38 years until February 3, 1940, and was formally abandoned October 24, 1940, and dismantled in 1945. (Cariker, S. David, 1987, "Railroading in the Carolina Sandhills: Volume 2", page 32-33, 124.)

• On March 30, 1910, McBee became the starting point of construction of the South Carolina Western Railway, just north of Poplar Avenue. It was completed and opened January 1, 1911, to Hartsville. The company was absorbed into the Seaboard Air Line April 6, 1914. The line has been in service until recently and is slated to be dismantled in 2024. (Cariker, S. David, 1987, "Railroading in the Carolina Sandhills: Volume 2, page 84")

• The Taste of McBee - mid-March
• Sandhills Classic Band Invitational - late September
• McLeod Farms Strawberry Festival - early May
• McLeod Farms Peach Festival - early July
• McLeod Farms Fall Festival - late October
• McBee Homecoming Parade - late October
• McBee Christmas Parade - early December

• Don King, NFL defensive tackle
• Noah O. Knight, Medal of Honor recipient

• Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Chesterfield County, South Carolina
• McBee High School

{{reflist}}

• [http://townofmcbeesc.com Town of McBee official website]
• [http://www.chesterfieldcountysc.com/ Chesterfield County website]
• [http://www.chesterfieldcountysc.com/_fileUploads/townofmcbee.jpg Map of McBee]

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = McBee

|North = Patrick

|Northeast = Society Hill

|East = Hartsville

|Southeast = Florence

|South = Bethune

|Southwest = Kershaw

|West = Jefferson

|Northwest = Mt Croghan

}}

{{Chesterfield County, South Carolina}}

{{South Carolina}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Chesterfield County, South Carolina

Category:Towns in South Carolina