Town of Yemassee
Address: 101 Town Circle
Yemassee, S.C. 29945
Phone: (843) 589-2565
Population: 851
Mayor: J.L. Goodwin
Council: Peggy O'Banner, Jerry Cook, Michelle Hagan,
Collin Moore
Meetings: Second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.
Yemassee, home of the Yemassee Shrimp Festival, is located in the geographic center of the Lowcountry Region of South Carolina. The CSX Railroad traverses the town. Yemassee straddles the Hampton-Beaufort county lines, 25 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. The town is situated at the junction of SC Highway 68 and US Highway 17-A, and it extends westward to include I-95 Exit 38.
Yemassee’s early development is linked to the railroad. The town was an important junction for both passenger and freight trains. Trains traveled from Augusta and Savannah to Charleston, part of a longer New York to Miami route, early in the 20th century.
In addition to a busy train depot, Yemassee boasted a post office, bank, school, jail, several stores and a hotel in the downtown area. During World War II, more than 250,000 U.S. Marines passed through Yemassee en route to Parris Island and “Boot Camp”. In 1942, the Marine Corps leased a facility from the Atlantic Coastline Railroad to house incoming recruits. The barracks stand today. Yemassee has a unique opportunity to acquire and move the barracks to the original location. The town hopes to preserve and restore it in order to open a museum and monument to all the patriotic Americans who passed this way.
For more information, visit us online at www.yemassee.net or stop in and talk with some of our friendly merchants.