Sumter

Burns-Downs is a small residential neighborhood within 2 miles of just about everything in the small-town City of Sumter. It's ranch-style homes sit on residential blocks between one of the area’s busiest highways, North Guignard Drive, and the University of South Carolina-Sumter. Crosswalks connect to Alice Drive Elementary and Middle Schools, and the local Food Lion is right across the street. Just north, small businesses and family-owned restaurants line both sides of Bultman Drive. While most conveniences are within walking distance, “most folks around here don’t want to walk a block or two with their shopping bags, so they’ll get in the car and drive on over,” says Talmadge Tobias, a lifelong Sumter resident and local Realtor with Re/Max Summit. Adams Avenue leads off North Guignard Drive and continues straight through the center of Burns-Downs’ residential blocks. Along its wide unmarked streets, brick ranch-style homes from the 1950s and ‘60s sprawl across quarter- to half-acre lawns. Paved driveways trek through trimmed front yards and connect to retro carports; though, some of the newer ranch-style homes have interior garages. Tall pines and oak trees form a natural barrier between backyard neighbors. Inside, most homes feature modern appliances and three- to -four bedrooms. Like most parts of Sumter, Burns-Downs listings range between $175,000 and $250,000. Crosswalks connect the neighborhood’s residential section to Palmetto Plaza. Folks can buy groceries at the Food Lion and stop by Roses to find deals on household essentials. Down the street, Bradley’s Market sells all kinds of farm fresh goodies, from baskets of bright red tomatoes to barrels of boiled peanuts. Guignard Diner is a longtime local staple just a couple doors over. Open since 2001, it serves simple homecooked soul food in a dining room decked out in Sumter memorabilia. The city’s main shopping strip, Bultman Drive begins immediately north of Palmetto Plaza and Main Street’s local shops and restaurants are just 2 miles east. Four schools border the north end of Burns-Downs. Alice Drive Elementary is the first elementary school in the Sumter School District to adopt an integrated STEM program. It scores a solid B on Niche, while Alice Drive Middle gets a C-plus. Directly across the street, The University of South Carolina-Sumter is one of the top two two-year colleges in South Carolina. Central Carolina Technical College offers over 50 career programs just east of the University. Sumter High School sits about 4 miles southwest and earns a C-minus. The Shot Pouch Greenway just opened in 2023. Passing through Burns-Downs, the 3.1-mile paved trail runs vertically from Julia Lester Dillon Park to Swan Lake Iris Gardens. “You see people walking their dogs and riding bikes on it all the time,” Tobias says. Dillon Park, as its locally known, added three new football fields in 2022 to accommodate the city’s growing youth sports programs. Swan Lake Iris Gardens is less than a mile walk from Burns-Downs. It’s bright purple iris’, pink camellias and Japanese magnolias draw locals and visitors from all over the world, but the swans are the main attraction here. All eight swan species gracefully glide across the 150-acre lake throughout the year, proudly parading their fuzzy babies each spring. Burns-Downs sits just 2 miles west of downtown Sumter between South Carolina Highway 120 and U.S. Route 521. Both roads intersect with Business Route 378 which links to the Shaw Air Force Base in fewer than 10 miles. Continuing west, residents can easily access the Columbia Metropolitan Airport which offers connecting flights to cities all over the country. Sumter’s only full-service medical center, Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital sits about 2 miles east in the downtown district.

Cherryvale is a small suburb directly across from Sumter County’s largest employer - Shaw Air Force Base. About 20,000 people, including active-duty military members and their families, live on Shaw, but Connie Morse says many still choose to live off base. A local Realtor with RE/MAX Summit, Morse has over 25 years of experience selling homes in Sumter. “Cherryvale is so close, it’s basically a part of the base.” She says, “You’re going to hear the military anywhere you go in Sumter, but you’re definitely going to hear it more in the Cherryvale area.” Though military jets practice overhead occasionally, Morse says, “Most people never complain; that’s the sound of freedom to us.” Most of the homes in Cherryvale were built between the 1960s and ‘80s. These ranch-style houses sit within walking distance of the community center and Cherryvale Elementary School. Many are packed in small mobile home communities where neighbors can easily chat from their front porch steps. Some manufactured homes sit next to brick-laid ranch-style houses on larger, individual lots. In the early 2000s, developers built the Hortonfield subdivision on the far west edge of Cherryvale. It has New Traditional craftsman homes with wide front porches and two-story Colonial Revivals. These listings typically go for around $200,000 to $250,000, while the older ranch-style homes usually range from $50,000 to $150,000. U.S. Route 378 is a major four-lane highway separating Cherryvale from Shaw Air Force Base, its northern neighbor. The highway connects to Downtown Sumter in about 10 miles, where residents can find shops, restaurants and the local hospital. The Columbia Metropolitan Airport sits about 45 miles west of Cherryvale. All the everyday essentials and more are within 5 miles of Cherryvale. Driving west, residents can pick up groceries from Food Lion or stop by Scooter’s Coffee before heading to work. Jeffrey Lampkin’s Country Boy Kitchen is a local favorite right across the highway. Doubling as a gas station, it serves Southern classics like shrimp and grits and banana pudding, but the hand-breaded honey-fried chicken is their signature dish. Dozens of shops and other restaurants – both local and national – line U.S. Route 521 just west of Cherryvale.   Cherryvale Community Center is in the heart of the neighborhood. It hosts a free after-school program where kids can receive help with homework and play games on the indoor basketball court. Outside the center, there is a small playground, a large open field and a loop walking trail through the woods. While Lake Cherryvale prohibits swimming, local fishermen find it to be a great spot to catch largemouth bass. Cherryvale is a part of the Sumter School District. Preschoolers begin at Cherryvale Elementary, which earns a C-minus on Niche. Hillcrest Middle and Crestwood High score C-plus’. Along with a championship basketball team, Crestwood offers dual enrollment through its partnership with the University of South Carolina-Sumter. Shaw Air Force Base used firefighting foam that contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances during the 1970s. These ‘forever chemicals’ seeped into the surrounding environment and began impacting Cherryvale’s water supply in the 2010s. While a permanent solution is still in the works, since 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense has supplied each resident with eight 5-gallon jugs of water at the beginning of each month.