HOA MANAGEMENT gilbert, sc
Gilbert, or the Town of Gilbert, South Carolina, is a small town located in Lexington County. Gilbert is located to the west of the Town of Lexington. The Town of Lexington is the county seat and a little over five miles from Gilbert. The town name “Gilbert” originates from the former area name “Gilbert Hollow.” The name Gilbert Hollow originated from local resident Jonathan Gilbert.
Location/Coordinates – Latitude: 33°55′27.52″N, Longitude: 81°23′37.37″W.
Elevation above sea level: 535 feet
Zip code: 29054
Telephone area codes for Gilbert are 803 and 839.
Per the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 565.
Per the U.S. Census Bureau, the total area of Gilbert is 2.77 square miles
Gilbert – A Brief Historical Overview
To quote William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name?” Apparently, with the Town of Gilbert, a lot of different names in the last 150 years. Originally known as Gilbert Hollow, then Summit Point in 1872. Back to Gilbert Hollow in 1876 and changed once again to Lewiedale in 1886. Finally, to just Gilbert in 1904.
A petition of the citizenry of Lewiedale was filed on February 28, 1899, with the South Carolina State Attorney General to hold a referendum on incorporating the town and a commission to register voters. The commission was appointed March 1, 1899, to register voters for an incorporation referendum on May 9, 1899. Included in the incorporation referendum was a vote on the town officials if the referendum passed. The voter rolls show the first registered voter to be J.F. Leaphart, age 48. He was given voter registration number 1 on March 25, 1899. The referendum passed on May 9, 1899.
The Town of Gilbert is located inside the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The Columbia MSA comprises the six counties of Lexington, Richland, Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, and Saluda. The Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area, as of 2020, had an estimated population of 847,397. Gilbert is one of the smallest towns, population-wise, within the Columbia MSA. The Columbia MSA is the second biggest MSA in South Carolina after the Greenville MSA. Within the United States, the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area is the 69th largest based on population.
Within short order, the town name of Lewiedale went the way of Summit Point and Gilbert Hollow. The citizenry of Lewiedale petitioned to have the name changed to “Gilbert” just after the turn of the 20th century. The United States Post Office Department only officially recognize the name change to Gilbert in 1904. The Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad never did recognize Lewiedale and continued to use the name Gilbert Hollow up until around when the citizenry petitioned to change it to just “Gilbert.”
The Columbia & Augusta Railroad first arrived in what would become Gilbert in 1868. The Columbia & Augusta Railroad merged with the Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad in 1869 to form the Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad. In this time period of piecemeal railroad systems throughout the United States, the Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad was considered a long rail line at around 195 miles long. The rail line originated in Charlotte and ended in Hamburgh, SC (North Augusta, SC)
The Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad was first chartered in 1846 in South Carolina and 1847 in North Carolina. The rail line was in operation in 1852. This forbearer of the Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad was a major economic driver for the Piedmont regions of North Carolina and South Carolina. With the merger of the railroads in 1869 into the Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad, the economic activity along the new merged rail line grew exponentially.
Gilbert, while even today still a small town, was strongly impacted by the original Columbia & Augusta Railroad and more so by the merged Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad. Farmers could transport their crops to market in more efficient ways. The railroad also expanded these farmer’s markets, which led to more profitable cotton cultivation.
As evidenced by an article in the Lexington Dispatch-News on June 13, 1894, titled “Lexington’s Finances,” the Gilbert Township was a prosperous area of Lexington County. The article discusses the Lexington County Auditor’s personal property tax collection and the real estate property tax for 1893. The article concludes with “Lexington, Gilbert Hollow, and Chinquepin are the three largest tax-paying townships.”
Farming is still an important aspect of the Gilbert area economy over a hundred years later. Cotton cultivation has mostly been replaced by other crops. Growing peaches was at one time a major agricultural product for the area. There are only a few peach farms still in operation in the area. Nonetheless, the Town of Gilbert still hosts the Lexington County Peach Festival each year. The festival is held each year on July 4th or July 3rd if the fourth falls on a Sunday.
The Peach Festival has been held for over sixty years. The festival begins each year at 9:30 AM with a parade and goes into the evening until 10:00 PM when the festivities are closed with a fireworks display. There are typically over a hundred arts and crafts exhibitors, a tractor show, an antique car show, children’s rides, and many food vendors. A Peach Beauty Pageant is held in June in conjunction with the festival.
The Lexington County Peach Festival is the primary fundraising event for the Gilbert Community Club. All proceeds raised are used to support the activities of the Gilbert Community Club, Gilbert Community Park, and other civic groups as selected by the club. Proceeds are also used to provide student volunteers with scholarships and other support.
As the Town of Lexington has grown in population, this sprawl has slowly moved towards the surrounding areas. This has resulted in land once utilized for farming now being developed into residential developments. As the chart below indicates, the population of Gilbert has nearly doubled since the 1990 U.S. Census of 324 to the estimated for 2019 of 643 people.
Gilbert Historical Population per the U.S. Census
Census Pop. %±
1880 141 —
1890 115 −18.4%
1900 178 54.8%
1910 162 −9.0%
1920 226 39.5%
1930 235 4.0%
1940 153 −34.9%
1950 172 12.4%
1960 171 −0.6%
1970 186 8.8%
1980 211 13.4%
1990 324 53.6%
2000 500 54.3%
2010 565 13.0%
2019 643 (est.) 13.8%
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