Historic Pendleton Growth Includes Partnerships, Improving Public Spaces
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Pendleton’s mayor, Sarah Stokowski, has spent her first months in office learning what small-town government is made of: budgets that only go so far, road projects that never quite stop, and the fact that even in a town as compact as Pendleton, history is never merely behind you.
In her recent update with The Anderson Observer, Stokowski described a council trying to widen sidewalks, repair public spaces, support youth recreation, and preserve the town’s historic character without pretending that any of it is cheap or simple.
What she seems to have learned above all is that the town’s future depends on a web of partnerships. Legislators in Columbia matter, Anderson County Council matters, and so do the people who show up for meetings, sponsor events, volunteer for recreation, or help restore a building on the square.
Stokowski said she has come to understand how much state-level politics trickles down, how limited municipal revenue really is, and how much Pendleton relies on its own residents and allies to make large projects possible.
One of the symbols that continues to serve as a reminder of Pendleton’s connection to the nation’s history is the sundial outside Farmers Hall, a gift tied by way of family lore to the Marquis de Lafayette. To Stokowski, that object captures what Pendleton is trying to do this summer and beyond — honor a layered past while using it to give the town a stronger civic identity as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding.
Pendleton’s summer calendar is crowded with events meant to keep the square active and the town visible to itself. The town will host a patriotic sing-along on June 24 as part of the 250th celebration, along with a summer music series, Fireworks for Firefighters at Veterans Park on July 1, Family Fest on July 25, and her quarterly conversations with residents in August.
Those events are meant not only to entertain but to make the town feel connected. The mayor spoke with warmth about the volunteers, the business associations, and the residents who already treat the square as a communal front porch, and she said that Pendleton’s challenge is to keep that feeling alive as the town grows.
Growth, in Pendleton, has become both opportunity and argument. The town’s efforts to improve connectivity through sidewalks, wider pedestrian routes, and long-range planning for the Village Green, East Queen Street, Cherry Street, and the 76 corridor. The town has invested heavily in the Village Green itself, including irrigation, uplighting, and re-sodding, with experts guiding the work so the old trees and roots are protected while the space is refreshed.
A separate concern has been large truck traffic downtown, especially after a logging truck struck power poles on Queen Street, which led the town to work with the state, trucking groups, and neighboring mayors on the possibility of a preferred truck route that would steer heavy vehicles away from the square without pretending to ban them from public roads. The mayor’s goad is simple: to keep big trucks on roads built for big trucks and preserve Pendleton’s pedestrian character where people live and walk.
The town’s finances are constrained, even when the budget looks healthy on paper. Pendleton receives state municipal funds, but depends heavily on state help, earmarks, and growth that can be taxed over time. Tax revenue from some new neighborhoods flows into TIF districts and cannot simply be used anywhere the town wants, and that those new rooftops do not produce immediate revenue the way people often assume.
That reality has shaped the town’s budget priorities. Public works is near the top because it touches everyone: water, sewer, trash, roads, and basic maintenance. Pendleton is also moving toward 24-hour police service, which means ordering vehicles a year in advance and building the staffing and equipment the town will need later, not just this year. Stokowski said the town may need help from Columbia to cover the supplies and recurring costs that come with that full-time police presence.
The recreation program remains one of the mayor’s main concerns, and one of the town’s biggest opportunities. The mayor said the Pendleton Recreation Association does remarkable work, largely with volunteers, but that the town itself has limited resources and must rely on partners like the county, the YMCA, and private supporters if it wants to expand youth sports, improve facilities, and address the shortage of daycare options she described as a “daycare desert”.
Veterans Park is central to that effort. The town has approved renovations at Town Hall and Veterans Park, where about $1.5 million has been allocated, though she noted that even basic restrooms now cost nearly a $1 million once materials and accessibility requirements are included. She wants the park to be more than a field and a parking lot; she wants it to be a place where families can gather comfortably, safely, and often.
The town’s ongoing search for a new administrator, which the mayor called one of the most important hires of her tenure, is under way. The town is taking its time, reviewing a pool of candidates, and relying on Interim Administrator Amber Barnes to keep the work steady in the meantime. The mayor thanked outgoing administrator Steve Miller for his years of excellent service and said the choosing a new administrator matters because it will shape where Pendleton goes next.
Pendleton is trying to become more connected without losing the qualities that made people care about it in the first place. That means preserving old buildings, improving roads, supporting recreation, respecting history in full rather than selectively, and making room for residents who were born there and those who arrived later.
Stokowski’s version of the town’s future is not flashy; it is practical, civic-minded, and rooted in the belief that Pendleton can be both welcoming and careful with itself.
