SUMTER, S.C. — The Crosswell neighborhood was once a thriving area downtown Sumter, according to residents, but, over time, the community they came to love changed.
Several abandoned homes sit vacant throughout the community. Litter and crime are also a concern.
“I’d like to see it be a vibrant neighborhood again,” James McKinney said.
He moved to the area in 1987 and describes the community he knew then as “caring” and “clean.”
“The school was one of the better school in Sumter. That’s why I moved there,” he said. “My children are all grown and gone, but my wife and I are still there and we just want to keep everything nice until the good Lord call us home.”
Now he leads the Crosswell Neighborhood Association – a group of community members working to make a positive change in the community.
“We’re established to combat some problems in the neighborhood such as trash and, of course, we had a lot of drugs…. We made a few in-roads as far (as).. trash being put down as much as it used to be,” he said.
They’ve posted signs throughout the community asking people to “please” keep the area clean.
They also host events and monthly meetings to uplift residents and strategize ways to make a difference.
“We’ve gone to every home in the neighborhood trying to get more people to join us in our effort to get the neighborhood cleaned up,” he said. “I’d like to see the streets paved…. I’d like to see the neighborhood come back to what it once was…. It would be a dream realized.”
The Crosswell Neighborhood Association meets the Second Monday of each month at 5:30 at the North HOPE Center located at 904 N. Main Street in Sumter.