Anderson, South Carolina

Anderson is the county seat and the hub of the western Upstate's southern end, known around here as the Electric City — a nod to its early hydroelectric history. Downtown Main Street carries a lively mix of local restaurants, shops, and year-round community events.

Neighborhoods range from historic streets near downtown to newer subdivisions on the edges of town, with Lake Hartwell close enough for an after-work boat ride. If you want small-city convenience with lake access nearby, Anderson is worth a look.

Known for

• Historic downtown Main Street shops and dining
• Lake Hartwell boating and fishing nearby
• County-seat hub with Electric City heritage

Getting around

Roughly a 40-minute drive to downtown Greenville, mostly along I-85 and US-76.

Around Anderson

The Electric City nickname is earned history rather than branding. Engineer William Whitner sent hydroelectric power into Anderson from the Rocky River in 1895 and from a larger station at Portman Shoals two years later — pioneering long-distance transmission in the South and making this, by local telling, the first city in the world to run a cotton gin on electricity. The same era gave the city its electric streetcars and its first big cotton mills.

Anderson University, a private university founded in 1911, sits near downtown and keeps concerts, games, and lectures on the community calendar. On the lake side, Green Pond Landing and Event Center — Anderson County's tournament-grade boat ramp on Lake Hartwell — hosts national bass fishing tournaments that draw anglers from across the country, and AnMed, the health system headquartered in Anderson, is one of the county's biggest employers.

Buying or selling in Anderson

We're members of the Greater Greenville, Western Upstate, and Spartanburg MLSs, so we can show you anything on the market in Anderson — and price and market your home here when it's time to sell. Tell us what you're weighing and we'll give you the honest local read.

Ask us about Anderson