BLAIR – Some communities become towns by accident. That’s not the story of Buckhead. It is a community being incorporated with purpose, by and for the people who live there. The charge to incorporate Buckhead is a grass roots effort being led by their own – the Cross the Water Community Council.
The land where the unincorporated Buckhead community sits in western Fairfield County grew out of a former plantation that encompassed hundreds of acres of land between the Broad River on the west and the Little River on the East. Today, that general area is referred to by locals as Cross the Water. The plantation was at one time owned by John Hugh Means who served as governor of South Carolina from 1850 – 1852.
For those who grew up in the Cross the Water area, like Brandon Henderson and Tangee Brice Jacobs, Buckhead is peace on earth.
“The dirt roads, the fields, the cookouts, the ball games, the people, that’s what I loved about Buckhead growing up,” Henderson recalled. “And that’s stayed with me. It has shaped who I am.”
Once incorporated, Buckhead, at .019 square miles, will be the smallest town in the United States, according to Henderson.
Henderson, 41, now spends his time between his beloved family home in Buckhead and an apartment in New York City where he serves as an IT project manager for a number of companies. But Henderson says his heart never left Buckhead where, over the last few years, he has spearheaded the community effort to incorporate Buckhead which is located in the Cross the Water area that also includes the communities of Shelton, Feasterville, Monticello, Dawkins, Blair along Highway 34 – and all the places tucked in between the Little and Broad Rivers.
These communities, Henderson said, have survived over many lifetimes, without ever actually having a seat at the table of their own governance.
The Cross the Water Community Council (CTWCC) was founded for the purpose of incorporating Buckhead. Henderson says the finish line is coming into view, and he wants the world to know exactly why the incorporation of Buckhead matters.
“Over the years, development decisions have been made for our community without our input,” Henderson said. “Budgets have been spent elsewhere.
“So, we decided to do what our elders always told us to do. ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself,’” Henderson said. Thus, was born the Cross the Water Community Committee.
“Incorporation is not just about drawing lines on a map,” Henderson said. “It’s about taking control of the decisions that shape our lives. It means we’ll be able to write our own ordinances, control our zoning, direct local taxes to local needs, and protect the land we’ve stewarded for generations.”
Henderson says none of this is without precedent.
“Back in the 1850s, Buckhead was the political epicenter of South Carolina. It was where the elite came to hunt and to decide the future of the state. Governor Means, a central figure in South Carolina’s secession, had a lodge right here,” Henderson said. “For years, Buckhead had its own post office and was rumored to be on the brink of incorporation before the Civil War. That effort, like so many things at that time, was interrupted by a war that reshaped the south.”
Now, nearly two centuries later, the residents of the area known as Buckhead are picking up that baton, to redeem it and move forward.
“What was once a haven for the political elite,” Henderson said, “is now the heart of a community-led movement for equity, growth, and homegrown governance.
Henderson said the CTWCC has spent years laying the groundwork for this moment.
“Through community engagement, strategic planning, and careful documentation, we are now entering the final stretch,” Henderson said.
Earlier this month, one of the final requirements to move the former plantation toward incorporation was met when the CTWCC received a formal letter from the Fairfield County Administrator Vic Carpenter confirming that Buckhead – after it is incorporated – will continue to receive county services such as EMS, fire service, and the use of the recycling centers.
“This milestone does more than satisfy legal requirements. It creates a gateway for better roads, stronger infrastructure, and targeted investment that will lift not just Buckhead, but every neighboring community around it,” Henderson said. “Incorporation empowers us to advocate with one voice, attract new resources, and implement policies that reflect the priorities of all who live between the Little and Broad Rivers.”
For Henderson and those committee members who have worked toward the culmination of incorporation, it is not just about Buckhead. It’s about bringing much-needed resources and decision-making power closer to all in the Cross The Water communities.
“When a municipality is formed, it gains the legal authority to apply for grants, direct zoning, and tailor services that reflect the actual needs of its people,” Henderson said. “A town hall located in Buckhead won’t just serve Buckhead. It will become a central hub for all Cross the Water residents to voice concerns, attend meetings, and get things done without having to drive across the county. This is how we start building from the inside, for everyone.”
The next step is certification from the South Carolina Department of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs, Henderson said.
“Once that comes through, our incorporation petition will be submitted for final review on May 28, in full compliance with Section 5-1-40 of the South Carolina Code,” he said. “That section outlines the rules we’ve followed
to the letter, including minimum population density and service requirements, all of which Buckhead exceeds,” Henderson said.
“This is our moment,” said CTWCC liaison Tangee Brice-Jacobs. “We’ve studied the laws, gathered the people, and met every condition. We’re not just hoping for a better future. We’re building one. And we’re building it together,” she said.
“This incorporation effort belongs to all of us,” Henderson said. “Those who’ve lived here their whole lives and those just finding their way back home. We are creating a town with intention, a town where the decisions are made by people who know the roads, the churches, the land, and the stories.
“We believe in writing policy that reflects the voices of Buckhead, Shelton, Feasterville, Monticello, Dawkins, and Blair – all the communities stitched together between our two rivers,” Henderson said. “All this while we’re preserving the natural beauty and deep culture that define Cross the Water.”
Henderson says this has not been just a bureaucratic process.
“It’s an act of self-respect and self-preservation,” he said. “We believe that Buckhead is ready to be fulfilled, to be the town it was meant to be.
“The future is being written with this incorporation,” Henderson said, “and we want to make sure it includes all of us.”
Visit www.CTWCC.org to submit a comment of support, to follow the CTWCC’s progress, and to stay engaged.
