Coker College, impressive SIMT, make-up day at Lulu’s and lauded magnate schools

“The Art of Good Living” is how our Chamber of Commerce aptly coins life in Hartsville and Darlington County, where we welcome you to a community with compelling history, our unique charm, and the friendliness which emanates from faith-based people who practice “The Golden Rule.” We’re a college town, we educate the brightest young minds in our state in science and mathematics at the South Carolina Governor’s School, and our public school district rivals our impressive private schools and academies. We’re a community filled with Arts, ornate parks, two recreational lakes, eclectic coffee shops, and diners with cuisine such as Pimento Cheese Rib-eyes at Shug’s Steakhouse, Shrimp-n-Grits at Bizell’s, and the famous “Hot Plates” at Ruth’s Diner.

• With a city population of just 7,500, we are likely the smallest city in America which is home to company which nips at the heels of the Fortune 500 – Sonoco is a $4 billion dollar plastics and global packaging giant with 300 operations in 35 countries, ranked #542 in 2009, with its history born from our Hartsville’s founding – Sonoco is both generous to our community but also classily understated.
• The Coker family – like the Vanderbilt and Rockefellers inasmuch as their influence on our town and on the agricultural industry, put Hartsville on the map in the early 1800s through the end of that century, opening the largest general store between Richmond and Atlanta (which ultimately became Sonoco), they brought the railroad to our area, and founded a revolutionary experimental working farm – today 80% of the world’s cotton can be traced to our town.
• Because of our distinctive history, you will notice Hartsville is “finely appointed” with mansions from that era as well as ornate modern neighborhoods, parks, gardens, and a charming downtown.
• A $4 billion global giant with record sales in 2008, schools of advanced and higher education, and a diverse economic and retail base means highly-educated people live here which promotes our progressive nature that is missing in many small towns.

A wonderful mix of Arts, academics, history and living await you and your family in Hartsville

With Myrtle Beach just 90 miles from us, many Hartsville families enjoy a second home on the coast! We regularly drive to Columbia (75 miles) to a University of South Carolina game, or to shop or for fun, Charlotte is 80 miles from us, our County Seat is Darlington, home to NASCAR’s Southern 500 and one of its first “super speedways,” and nearby Florence hosts Francis Marion University and its noted planetarium and other features, Magnolia Mall, its Civic Center, as well as a very capable regional airport with many daily commercial flights.

Between the charming Egg Scramble Jamboree in Lamar and the Catfish Festival in historic Society Hill is the Darlington Superspeedway – we have tons of festivals to tell you about which we host in Hartsville.

Over the years we have dedicated ourselves to developing a “Norman Rockwell” kind of idyllic community which is slow paced at our insistence in order to appreciate the things that really matter in life. We are very pleased to meet you and ask that you allow us the pleasure of sharing our lives with your family!

Our progressive nature and family friendliness meshes ideally with a laid back life insulated by farms and fields

Our Location – in the “Pee Dee:”

Darlington County in the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina

We live in the one million population 8 county “Pee Dee” region of northeast South Carolina, which is named after the Pee Dee River of the Pee Dee Native American tribe, whose watershed starts in North Carolina and empties into the Atlantic Ocean south of Myrtle Beach. Although a great deal of Hartsville’s history relates to our founders and the Civil War, our early dealings with the Pee Dee tribe date to the early 1700s, and they fought with General Francis Marion against the British in the Revolutionary War.

• Note on the Regional Road Map below our unique location between Charlotte and the coast, and two major interstates cross by Darlington County, I-95 and I-20.
• State Road 15, which runs through Hartsville, used to be the main road connecting Miami to New York City

As we’ll share with you in History, Facts, & Stats, Hartsville was at one time at the “center” of modernizing agriculture and those roots are still evident in our many agricultural fields along our roads. Today, you will be impressed with our economic diversity, our location is compelling for business as two major Interstates cross into our county, and the Pee Dee Region is growing its reputation as a wonderful place for retirees with our low living costs, temperate weather with four seasons, and close proximity to the coast.

Regional Road Map         Pee Dee River

Your Future Neighbors – “The Southern 500 meets the Fortune 500”

Welcome from Mayor Mel Pennington:

Mayor Mel with Carolina Pines CEO Lance Jones and at our weekend Farmer’s Market

Mayor Pennington
Mayor Mel welcomes you to Hartsville – how about
lunch with the mayor during your interview?
Running time: 1:23 minutes
Apple/iPad

“Hartsville is a comfortable and uncomplicated place; but people will be pleasantly surprised that it also has a diverse and intelligent population due to the companies here, the Governor’s School for Science and Math, Coker College, and we are a draw for retirees." – Marty Driggers

“Hartsville is not a typical small southern town and the image goes with that. It is a very progressive community that has preserved the positive aspects of small town living.” – Jim Money

“I am 5 minutes from my job, the grocery store and my church – that really beats the Houston freeway drive of an hour (one way) I had! Another thing I truly enjoy about living in Hartsville is I can stop by school and spend lunch with my son – impossible in Houston.” – Ann Marie Pennington

Goz Segars Entreprenuer/Philantropist Business Leader Reflections on Hartsville

Lex West President West Oil Company On a safe and fulfilling life for families Meet the West Family

Terry “Mac” Josey VP and GM Darlington Raceway NASCAR’s “superspeedway” was born on this track “It’s too tough to tame!”

Roger Schrum Vice-President Sonoco Products Company A Global Company that appreciates its roots “Sonoco Tour”

Marty Driggers Attorney City of Hartsville RenoFest and the Coker family’s amazing influence RenoFest & History

Dick Puffer Executive Director The Byerly Foundation Foundation’s Influence

Meredith Taylor Principal Hartsville Middle School CPRMC Board

Jon Shannon Administrator Governor’s School CPRMC Board

Jim Money Director Darlington Tourism Theater Tour

Valencia Thomas Mayor City of Society Hill A Hamlet with History

Wesley Blackwell County Chairman Darlington County Attracting Newcomers

Michael Holt Family Judge Darlington County On Family and Our Charm

Jerry Ellison Founder/CEO JBE Enterprises

Jerry Kirshner HR Manager Talley Metals, Inc. CPRMC Board

Dr. Ted Newman, OD Optometrist Pee Dee Eye Associates CPRMC Board

Ann Marie Pennington Executive Director Morningside Asst Living

Photo Galleries:

Downtown Hartsville

Coker College

Country Drive

We’re going to tell you plenty about our hometown, Coker College, our area and all there is to do, so for now you can just relax and enjoy these photo galleries!*

Neighboring Towns/Map – each has an interesting story:

Lamar

Society Hill

Downtown Darlington

Florence

Bishopville

Our neignbors add a great deal to living here in Darlington County. Historic Society Hill has just 700 residents but the town is filled with history of our origins, and packs a wallop with its Catfish Festival which draws as many as 6,000 in September. Darlington is our County Seat and of course is known throughout the nation as the home of Darlington Raceway – NASCAR’s first super speedway. Florence is the largest city in our region at the crossroads of two major interstates, with a capable regional airport, impressive Francis Marion University, a Civic Center, as well as shopping which we feature in The Art of Living. Bishopville, with a population of 3,000, is the County Seat for Lee County, which we often drive though to connect to I-20 on the drive to Columbia. It is home to the South Carolina Cotton Museum, as well as the fabled “Lizard Man,” who according to legend was first seen in the Scape Ore Swamp in the early 1970s. T-shirts and bumper stickers are available! And don’t forget tiny Lamar to our south and its annual Egg Scramble, which is held each year in April. What to see a map showing our proximity to these neighbors? Click Here

Resources/Websites:

City of Hartsville Brochure (PDF)
Society Hill Brochure (PDF)

Virtually every photo and video was taken specifically for this Online Job Tour. Unlike many hospital websites and recruitment materials, in this presentation there are no "stock" photos or images that aren't authentic. We believe this, along with real testimonials, is the absolute best way to show you what your career and life will be like with us! You and your family deserve nothing less for such an important decision! Thank you for considering a career with us in Hartsville.