Brief History of the Town of Santee, S.C.

The Town of Santee, located in Orangeburg County, was officially chartered over 70 years ago in 1949. The town’s first mayor, Jimmy Smith, was elected in 1949 and didn’t vacate his office until 1972. Unfortunately, there are no minutes documenting any town meetings during those first 22 years of its existence. The town's current mayor, Donnie Hilliard, has served as Santee's mayor for the past eight years.

With the advent of the automobile in the early part of the 1900's, increased pressure grew to provide for more convenient and passable roadways across the state. In 1927, a bridge was built over 'the river' between the neighboring towns of Summerton and Santee. This led to the subsequent intersection of US 301 and SC 15 with SC Highway 6 in Santee. This laid the groundwork for the future growth of this town on beautiful Lake Marion, SC. 

Back in the late 1940's, Santee was just a crossroad with two or three restaurants and some stores. Because a lot of folks from the North were coming through on their way South to Florida, it was not long before a number of small motels started to be built along Highways 301 and 15, by Lake Marion. Remember, this was long before Interstate highway I-95 was constructed.

In those early times, the town didn’t have the right to sell alcohol to travelers. In order to be able to sell alcohol in South Carolina back then, you had to be an incorporated community. So the local hotel, restaurant, and store owners got together and petitioned to officially incorporate the Town of Santee, so they could sell alcohol to visitors. The rest is history.

Up through the 1950's, the primary occupation in the Santee area was farming. It wasn't until the 1960's that Santee began to give serious attention to the potential economic impact of travel and tourism on the town's future. By the early 1970s, in anticipation of the opening of I-95 running by Santee, more motels, restaurants and businesses had begun to be built on SC Route 6 that passes through the town.

In the mid-1970s the town government and its local business leaders started working together to secure federal funds to plan for and install central water and sewer systems. Bringing in central water and sewer, along with the completion of the I-95 bridge span across Lake Marion, signaled a new era of growth and development for the Santee community.

Though its now a far cry from the little crossroads community that it was in the early 1940's, Santee still retains its small town feel, while proudly focusing on its new motto as an 'Oasis of Recreation' on the banks of Lake Marion. Today visitors come to play golf, boat, fish, camp, hike, and observe the abundant wildlife inhabiting the area. 

 

It appears the most complete history of the town can be found in the book “Cotton Fields to Golf Courses – A Pictorial History of Elloree and Santee.” written by members of the Garden Club in nearby Elloree. Also, be sure to read the Orangeburg T&D Newspaper article "Santee to Celebrate 70th Birthday" and the Town of Santee 2018 Comprehensive Plan,