The next time you’re heading west from Columbia on I-26 traveling toward Greenville or Spartanburg, think about passing through the tiny town of Peak, South Carolina. It’s less than 10 minutes from I-26. A picturesque mountain community not far from Chapin, SC, the tiny charming town of Peak will warm your heart.

Peak, SC is located in Newberry County along the Broad River. It’s more than a mere coincidence that it’s directly in the path of the 1800s Greenville and Columbia Railway.

Wikipedia

In fact, Peak was created in 1855 as a railway stop called “Peaks Station,” named after the Superintendent of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad Company, William Peake.

Ivan Čentéš/Flickr The Town of Peak officially incorporated in 1880.

The completion of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad in South Carolina in 1853 meant a traveler could get from Greenville to Columbia in less than 11 hours. With an overnight stop they could journey onto Charleston the next day. Prior to that this same journey would take an average of two weeks.

candidslice.com

The tiny town of Peak is not the smallest town in the Palmetto State, but it’s pretty close - with only 65 residents. As far as population goes, Peak is the 4th smallest incorporated area in the state.

Google Maps

It’s also nearly the smallest in land mass. The town is only .3 square miles. There are 640 acres in a square mile so this means the town of Peak is a mere 192 acres.

Google Maps

Any visit to Peak should include a crossing of the old railroad trestle, an 1,100 foot trek over the Broad River with spectacular views.

Facebook/Mary Addis Shivar

The Peak to Prosperity Passage of the Palmetto Trail

The old trestle is now on the Palmetto Trail, part of the “Rails to Trails” program that converts old railway lines into trails. The Peak to Prosperity Passage of the Palmetto Trail skirts the north side of town and continues across the Broad River to a stopping point just on the other side in Alston.

Palmetto Conservation

The 10.8 mile “Peak to Prosperity” segment of the Palmetto Trail is considered an easy hike and good for a weekend hiking/camping excursion. There’s even a campground at approximately the halfway point.

Facebook/Mary Addis Shivar

Peak’s charming old schoolhouse is on Church Street. It’s a photograph waiting to happen.

Google Maps

In spite of a fire that destroyed much of the commercial district in 1909, Peak’s population had soared in the 1910 Census to a whopping 183 people. By 1950, it had regressed back to only 86 folks. And in 2015, only 65 residents live in the Town of Peak.

Panaramio/herdintheupstate This closed business is on Peak Road, and not in the downtown commercial district. The population figure of 65 was reported on July 1, 2015, according to SCHometownLocator.com.

A real must-see in Peak: the remains of St. Simon’s Episcopal Church. According to the website SCIWAY the church sits empty on the property of a descendant of the original owner. The site says residents claim the church opened in 1900 and was closed in the late 1920s.

Glenna Barlow/Flickr

According to an extensive survey report by TR Garrow Associates of Columbia, in the 1920s the state’s economy was very much dependent upon the cotton and tobacco industries. But a collapse in the prices for both, plus the arrival of the boll weevil caused the depression to hit South Carolina almost a decade earlier than everywhere else in the country.

Wikipedia

Ivan Čentéš/Flickr

The Town of Peak officially incorporated in 1880.

candidslice.com

Google Maps

Facebook/Mary Addis Shivar

Palmetto Conservation

Panaramio/herdintheupstate

This closed business is on Peak Road, and not in the downtown commercial district. The population figure of 65 was reported on July 1, 2015, according to SCHometownLocator.com.

Glenna Barlow/Flickr

Starting in 1921, farm values, land values – everything crashed and farmers were forced to borrow against their new small property values or lose their land and be forced out.

We can’t be sure why this seemingly thriving town in the early 1900s stopped growing. Nor can we be certain why Peak’s population has declined from a high of 183 residents in 1910 all the way back down to near its official 1880 census count of 62. But we can be sure that Peak has survived. Today’s residents of Peak are a testament to that fact.

Think about that as you pass through admiring this tiny town. If you look closely enough at the land and the buildings you’ll see much more than pure southern charm. You’ll see the resilience of generations of families that have prevailed in keeping this tiny town alive for the last 135 years.

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