Coward, South Carolina

Episode 714 / 3 July 2026 / 72 min / express

The Ozark Thumper

"we are going to south carolina this week going down to coward south carolina... this is in florence county" about 0:04:03

The case: Murder of Randy Bratsky (November 2004). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2026

Population

612

Median household income

$40,536

Median home value

$134,600

History, in brief

• The most likely account, according to the historical society, is that in 1831 Captain Solomon Coward was granted 126 acres spanning a section of the Lynches River in southern Florence County, at the time within the Williamsburg District. about 0:06:00
• The name Coward was not adopted until the early 20th century. about 0:06:21
• Other records say the town was named for Colonel Asbury Coward, a Confederate colonel who later became commandant of the South Carolina military academy. about 0:06:27
• Other records say the town was named for John Wilson Coward, a member of the Committee of 50 that petitioned South Carolina for the charter incorporating Florence County. about 0:06:41
• Coward became a farming community, with tobacco, cotton and corn the primary cash crops in the 1940s, and its lumber industry was supported by the railroad. about 0:07:23
• The town was home to a sawmill that provided employment for a long time. about 0:07:35
• Coward was not incorporated until 1963. about 0:07:42
• In recent years the town has been troubled by rising water levels in the Lynches River and increased flooding. about 0:07:49

The reviews read out

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