Easley, South Carolina

Episode 50 / 27 December 2017 / 134 min / full

An Unexpected Slaughter

"James says the episode is about Easley, South Carolina, in the north-west of the state, 25 minutes outside Greenville, in Pickens County with a small part in Anderson County" about 0:06:14

The case: Murders of the Dixon family (26 April 2008). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2017

Population

20,765

Median age

40.7

Median household income

$40,453

Median home value

$147,300

Two-bedroom rent

about $725

Cost of living

93

Religious

66%

Property crime

▲ almost double

Violent crime

▲ about 10% higher

History, in brief

• Pickens County was Cherokee territory until the American Revolution; the Cherokee sided with the British and gave up their lands in South Carolina. about 0:10:18
• The area was first named Rockville in 1791, then became Pickensville. about 0:11:20
• Colonel Robert Eliot Holcombe, a farmer and timber mill owner, co-founded the town and set up the store room in 1845 as the area's first business. about 0:11:33
• The town is named for William King Easley, born in Pickens County in 1825, who with four others from Greenville represented the area at the South Carolina secession convention, raised a company of cavalry and served as a major in the Confederate Army. about 0:12:16
• In 1860 the Pickens District had a population of about 19,000, of whom 22% were slaves. about 0:12:57
• The town history on the website says the district's Protestant churches were numerous but schools were few. about 0:13:44
• There was little fighting in the area in the Civil War, but marauders and deserters came down from the mountains to raid the town. about 0:14:11
• After the war Easley, a local attorney, invested $100,000 to bring the railroad to town; the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway Company was also involved. about 0:14:25
• Holcombe became the first mayor of the town and the first agent of the train depot. about 0:14:55
• Easley was chartered as a town in 1873 and got a post office in 1875, becoming a thriving textile town. about 0:15:31
• In 1953 the Easley Textile Company, later known as Swirl Inc., made the Swirl Wrap dress, according to the town website. about 0:15:47
• In 1956 a man started a yarn production company in Easley. about 0:16:10

Open the episode file