|
|
| Town
of Irmo, SC |
| "Gateway
to Lake Murray" |
|
Irmo has
been recognized by Money Magazine in 2007 as the 12th
"Most Affordable Place to Live in the
Country".
Located
off the shore of Lake Murray and only ten miles from Columbia,
the capital of South Carolina, Irmo was a sleepy little town
of 500 people in the early 1970's. Today with more than 12,000
residents Irmo is one of the country's most sought after
places to live.
The
Cherokee Indians first roamed the waterways and woodlands of
this area while following the Cherokee Trail. Later German and
Swiss immigrants were the first Westerners to settle the area
bounded by the Broad and Saluda Rivers and extending to the
Newberry county line. Germans, using land grants from the King
of England, settled the Dutch Fork area in the mid 18th
century. Self-sufficient farms were established in spite of
the rocky, red clay that was unsuitable for plantation
farming.
|
|
|
The
origin of Irmo tells the story of the railroad's influence.
Irmo was incorporated in 1890 and flourished along the tracks of the
Columbia, Newberry and Laurens railroads on the high ridge between
the rivers. The town was named by combining the first two letters of
the names of two railroad company men - C.J. Iredell
and H.C. Moseley.
A
quarter of a century later, the largest earthen dam in the world (at
that time) was built across the Saluda River, forming Lake Murray.
The dam, along with the construction of I-26 adjacent to Irmo in the
late 1950's, made possible the continuing rapid growth of the
greater Irmo area. The beautiful Lake Murray provides much sought
after real estate along its 528 miles of shoreline and provides a
recreational paradise for the residents of Irmo - truly the
"Gateway to Lake Murray".
|
|
|
Irmo Town Park |
©2007,
2008 Town of Irmo. All rights reserved.
No portion of this page may be reproduced without permission.
|
|
