{"id":7443,"date":"2023-08-31T22:26:14","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T22:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7443"},"modified":"2026-08-20T19:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:23:51","slug":"union-county-south-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/union-county-south-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"Union County, South Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Union County is a county in South Carolina, United States, in the north-central part of the state along the North Carolina foothills approach. It had a population of 27,244 at the 2020 census and covers 515 square miles (1,335 km2) centred near 34\u00b041\u2032N 81\u00b037\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Union is the county seat, and its postal code is 29379. The county holds 4 incorporated municipalities (one city, three towns), 2 census-designated places and a scatter of unincorporated mill villages and crossroads communities. It sits in the Eastern time zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Union County<\/h2>\n<p>Union County lists 35 named places on this site: 4 incorporated cities and towns, 2 census-designated places (former cotton-mill villages folded into the Census Bureau&#8217;s community list), and the rest unincorporated communities, crossroads, and old mill sites scattered through the countryside. &ldquo;CDP&rdquo; below marks a Census Bureau statistical community with no town government; &ldquo;Unincorp.&rdquo; marks a named place with no municipal boundary at all.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Union<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>7,776<\/td>\n<td>29379<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Jonesville<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>688<\/td>\n<td>29353<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Carlisle<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>386<\/td>\n<td>29031<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lockhart<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>523<\/td>\n<td>29364<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Buffalo<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>1,024<\/td>\n<td>29321<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Monarch Mill<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>1,548<\/td>\n<td>29379<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Adamsburg<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Beaver Dam<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bonham<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Carem<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Colerain<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cross Keys<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>29338<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Delta<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Goat Alley<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Goshen Hill<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Herbert<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kelly<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kelton<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kennedy Mill<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lockhart Junction<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mean Crossroads<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Monarch<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Neal Shoals<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>New Hill<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pinckney<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pinckneyville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Red Hill<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Robat<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Santuc<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>29378<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sardis<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sartor Town<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sedalia<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>South Hills<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tempie Hill<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tuckertown<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>West Springs<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Monarch and Monarch Mill are two names for the same Buffalo-area mill village cluster and are kept as separate entries because both appear in local use; Lockhart and Lockhart Junction likewise name the town proper and its former rail junction a short distance away, not the same point on the map.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>29379 &mdash; Union (also serves Monarch Mill)<\/li>\n<li>29353 &mdash; Jonesville<\/li>\n<li>29031 &mdash; Carlisle<\/li>\n<li>29364 &mdash; Lockhart<\/li>\n<li>29321 &mdash; Buffalo<\/li>\n<li>29338 &mdash; Cross Keys<\/li>\n<li>29378 &mdash; Santuc<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The remaining crossroads and mill communities have no ZIP code of their own and share the delivery area of the nearest post office town above.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Union County sits in South Carolina&#8217;s upper Piedmont, rolling hill country cut by the Broad River, Tyger River and Fairforest Creek. The Broad River forms much of the county&#8217;s eastern edge and powered a string of 19th- and 20th-century cotton mills whose villages &mdash; Buffalo, Monarch Mill, Lockhart, Jonesville &mdash; still anchor the county&#8217;s population outside Union itself. The terrain rises gently toward the northwest, toward the Blue Ridge foothills, and eases toward the coastal plain to the southeast.<\/p>\n<p>Union County borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/cherokee-county-south-carolina\/\">Cherokee County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/york-county-south-carolina\/\">York County<\/a> to the northeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/chester-county-south-carolina\/\">Chester County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/fairfield-county-south-carolina\/\">Fairfield County<\/a> to the southeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/newberry-county\/\">Newberry County<\/a> to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/laurens-county-south-carolina\/\">Laurens County<\/a> to the southwest, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/spartanburg-county\/\">Spartanburg County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Union County had 27,244 residents at the 2020 census. Union, the county seat, is by far the largest place at 7,776 people, followed by the Monarch Mill CDP at 1,548 and the Buffalo CDP at 1,024. Median household income in the county runs well below the South Carolina median of $67,804, reflecting the decline of the textile industry that once dominated local employment. Population density is roughly 53 people per square mile, low even by upstate South Carolina standards.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Union County&#8217;s economy grew up around cotton textiles &mdash; Buffalo, Monarch Mill and Lockhart were purpose-built company mill villages, and the industry employed most of the county through the 20th century. Manufacturing remains the largest private sector today: Milliken &amp; Company, Gestamp, Timken Company and Sonoco all operate plants in the county. Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System runs local medical services, and the University of South Carolina Union gives the county seat a small satellite-campus presence. Walmart, Dollar General and CSL Plasma round out the county&#8217;s larger employers.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Union County was formed in 1785 from Craven County, one of South Carolina&#8217;s original judicial districts, and takes its name from the old Union Church, a colonial-era meeting house built jointly by several denominations near the site of the future county seat. The county was fought over repeatedly during the Revolutionary War, hosting the Battle of Musgrove Mill, the Battle of Fish Dam Ford and the Battle of Blackstock&#8217;s Farm within a few years of each other. Confederate President Jefferson Davis passed through Union County in the final days of the Confederacy in 1865. From the 1890s into the 1990s, the Broad River mill villages made Union County a textile manufacturing center; the closure of most of those mills in the late 20th century reshaped the county&#8217;s economy toward the diversified manufacturing base it has today.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. Route 176 and U.S. Route 176 Alternate, along with South Carolina Highway 49 and Highway 215, carry most through traffic across the county.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Spartanburg &mdash; 24 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Chester &mdash; 25 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Newberry &mdash; 30 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Rock Hill &mdash; 45 miles northeast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), about 35 miles from Union.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Union County, South Carolina?<\/strong><br \/>It is in the upper Piedmont of north-central South Carolina, bordering North Carolina&#8217;s foothills approach, between Spartanburg and Chester.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Union County?<\/strong><br \/>27,244 people at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Union County?<\/strong><br \/>515 square miles (1,335 km2), of which about 2 square miles is water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Union County?<\/strong><br \/>Union is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Union County?<\/strong><br \/>Four incorporated municipalities &mdash; the city of Union and the towns of Jonesville, Carlisle and Lockhart &mdash; plus two census-designated places and about 30 unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Union County?<\/strong><br \/>29379 (Union), 29353 (Jonesville), 29031 (Carlisle), 29364 (Lockhart), 29321 (Buffalo), 29338 (Cross Keys) and 29378 (Santuc).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What industry built Union County&#8217;s mill villages?<\/strong><br \/>Cotton textiles. Buffalo, Monarch Mill and Lockhart were all built as company-owned mill villages along the Broad River between the 1890s and early 1900s.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/south-carolina\/\">Towns and villages in South Carolina<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Union County is a county in South Carolina, United States, in the north-central part of the state along the North Carolina foothills approach. It had a population of 27,244 at the 2020 census and covers 515 square miles (1,335 km2) centred near 34\u00b041\u2032N 81\u00b037\u2032W. Union is the county seat, and its postal code is 29379. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Union County, South Carolina","_seopress_titles_desc":"Union County, SC: population 27,244, towns Union, Jonesville, Carlisle, Lockhart, mill villages, ZIP codes, geography and history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-south-carolina","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7443"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10589,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7443\/revisions\/10589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}