Bamberg County honors William H. Nimmons Sr. with Olar road dedication

At 12021 Carolina Highway in Olar, the road now carrying William H. Nimmons Sr.’s name pointed to the public systems many Bamberg County residents still depend on: Handy Ride, the Olar-Govan-Middle Place Regional Water System, the county’s solid waste authority and the job training center in Denmark. The dedication turned a roadside sign into a reminder that Nimmons’ influence did not stop at the county council chamber.

Bamberg County named the segment William H. Nimmons, Sr. Road on Govan Road between Voorhees Road and U.S. Highway 321, with officials, community leaders and residents gathering for the ceremony. Govan Mayor Wilma Edmonds presented the Key to the Town of Govan, underscoring how the honor reached beyond one neighborhood. A former mayor of the City of Bamberg also tied the tribute to the 1976 county council elections and the U.S. Department of Justice approval of the Oct. 18, 1976 election, linking Nimmons’ service to a turning point in county political representation.

Nimmons’ story began in Middle Place near Govan, where he was born Dec. 30, 1929, the youngest child and only son of Solomon and Daisy Nimmons. He was the great-grandson of Isaac Nimmons, a former slave and coachman at the Sims Plantation near Midway who later became a landowner and helped build a Black community in the area. Nimmons attended a one-room schoolhouse in Middle Place before graduating from Voorhees Normal and Industrial School, later known as Voorhees High School. He went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, now North Carolina A&T State University, and served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953, including a tour during the Korean War.

After military service, Nimmons taught science and chemistry at Richard Carroll High School in Bamberg and later served there as principal for two years. His public career widened in 1978, when he and Rufus Grigsby became the first African Americans elected to Bamberg County Council. Nimmons served on council for 33 years, helping create Bamberg County Handy Ride, establish the Olar-Govan-Middle Place Regional Water System, secure the Voorhees Job Training One-Stop Center in Denmark through the Lower Savannah Council of Governments, and serve as a charter member of the Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority at Savannah River Site for 18 years.

The South Carolina General Assembly introduced H. 5094 on Feb. 14, 2024, and later H. 3002 in the 2025-2026 session to honor him. The county’s celebration, including remarks delivered on behalf of Congressman Jim Clyburn, framed the road as more than a memorial. It marked a name attached to the daily workings of Bamberg County, from water lines and ride service to workforce access and local government itself.