Manning

History

In 1855, the South Carolina Legislature appointed a group of commissioners to select and purchase a tract of land for "the Village of Manning" in the newly formed Clarendon County. According to the Watchmen, a local newspaper of the time, "the Legislature (had) granted a bill of divorce between Clarendon and Claremont (Sumter)." Thirteen men were named as commissioners to select and acquire from on which to lay out the new courthouse village: R. C. Baker, L. F. Rhame, J. C. Brock, W. W. Owens, Joseph Sprott, J. C. Burgess, M. T. Brogdon, J. J. Nelson, Samuel A. Burgess, J. J. McFadden, Jesse Hill, R. R. Haynsworth, and P. S. Worsham. Five other commissioners, R. I. Manning, L. F. Rhame, J. B. Brogdon, J. J. Conyers, and William A. Burgess, were later named when it came time to erect the courthouse and jail from a state appropriation of $18,000, plus whatever funds might be realized from the sale of lots. The site for the village was presented to the state by Captain Joseph Copley Burgess, and the Plat of Manning was prepared and filed in Sumter County Courthouse. (Captain Burgess had also donated land for the courthouse and jail in Manning.) On the second Monday of the following October, the new district officers were elected, and Clarendon began to operate independently from Sumter District with Manning as its county seat. The city was named for John Lawrence Manning, who was elected to both chambers in the General Assembly. He was later chosen by the Assembly to serve as Governor of South Carolina from 1852 to 1854. George Allen Huggins was the first intendant (mayor) of Manning. Manning's Post Office was established in 1856, and Thomas S. Coogler was appointed as the first Postmaster. Manning's first library, the Hannah Levi Memorial Library, was completed in…

Geography

Manning is located near the center of Clarendon County. It is just to the east of Interstate 95 and at the intersection of U.S. 301 and U.S. 521. Via I-95 it is northeast to Florence and southwest to Interstate 26. Interchanges for Manning along I-95 include US 301 (exit 115), South Carolina Highway 261 (exit 119) and US 521 (exit 122). US 301 leads northeast to Turbeville and southwest to Summerton, while US 521 leads northwest to Sumter and southeast to Greeleyville. According to the United States Census Bureau, Manning has a total area of , all land. It is just south of the Pocotaligo River, a tributary of the Black River. Manning has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with long, hot summers and short, mild winters.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  628
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  573
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  565
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  525
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  481
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  467
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  445
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  418

Most recent

• M 2.91 — 2026-02-08
  6 km SW of Ladson, South Carolina
• M 2.72 — 2026-01-20
  5 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
• M 2.57 — 2025-04-26
  6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2024-09-15
  6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
• M 2.65 — 2024-03-09
  5 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
• M 2.54 — 2022-10-31
  6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina