FOUNDED at the start of the 19th Century, it is unclear as to whether
the town had directly taken its name from Swansea, Wales. One
theory is that since the town was 20 miles from Columbia, and may
have been founded by G
erman immigrants, the name Swansea
came from a simple anglicisation of the German word for 20,
"Zwanzig".
To add further mystique to the name, other towns in the county along
the railroad have got equally foreign connections - there is a town
called Norway, a village called Denmark, and a place called Sweden.
Once Swansea had been properly incorporated, the founding fathers
adopted their Welsh connection with relish, hence street names
such as North Monmouth Avenue and South Cardiff Avenue.
Being situated halfway between New York and Miami on the main north-south railroad ensured Swansea's early success as a cotton-producing town.
Today the cotton industry is still the town's main earner. Brought in from the fields by machine, the cotton is de-seeded and cleaned before being sent to nearby textile mills to be spun into a usable garment-ready product.
Black slaves out in the fields on the edge of town have been replaced with Hispanic immigrants, and all over the main cotton mill, the signs are bilingual in English and Spanish.
This multi-cultural feel to Swansea is an obvious and striking feature. But the main cause for pride here is sport. The high school, while being on the small side in comparison with its contemporaries, has been the state football and wrestling champion.
This article, written by Perry Buck, originally appeared in Planet Swansea which was published by the South Wales Evening Post.
the town had directly taken its name from Swansea, Wales. One
theory is that since the town was 20 miles from Columbia, and may
have been founded by G
came from a simple anglicisation of the German word for 20,
"Zwanzig".
To add further mystique to the name, other towns in the county along
the railroad have got equally foreign connections - there is a town
called Norway, a village called Denmark, and a place called Sweden.
Once Swansea had been properly incorporated, the founding fathers
adopted their Welsh connection with relish, hence street names
such as North Monmouth Avenue and South Cardiff Avenue.
Being situated halfway between New York and Miami on the main north-south railroad ensured Swansea's early success as a cotton-producing town.
Today the cotton industry is still the town's main earner. Brought in from the fields by machine, the cotton is de-seeded and cleaned before being sent to nearby textile mills to be spun into a usable garment-ready product.
Black slaves out in the fields on the edge of town have been replaced with Hispanic immigrants, and all over the main cotton mill, the signs are bilingual in English and Spanish.
This multi-cultural feel to Swansea is an obvious and striking feature. But the main cause for pride here is sport. The high school, while being on the small side in comparison with its contemporaries, has been the state football and wrestling champion.
This article, written by Perry Buck, originally appeared in Planet Swansea which was published by the South Wales Evening Post.
