Our History
In July of 2009, the Pickens County School District deeded the abandoned, Ben Hagood School (formerly the Pickens Mill Elementary School) to the City of Pickens who leased it to a newly formed 501(c)3, non-profit, Senior Citizens of Pickens (SCoP) for 20 years.
This school, now largely renovated became the Hagood Community Center which now includes the Pickens Senior Center, Granger Fiber Arts, and Young Appalachian Musicians (YAM).
Initially, Seniors Unlimited, a non-profit with multiple locations in Pickens County and subsidized with state funds ran the programs and supplied meals (from another location) for the Pickens Senior Center. However, Seniors Unlimited shortly ran into financial problems, consolidated operations, and withdrew from the Pickens Senior Center. At that point, October 2011, SCoP, an all-volunteer organization without subsidies for meals or operations, took responsibility for the programs and meal preparation.
Today the SCoP continues to run all the operations with all volunteers.
Renovation of the building has been accomplished with funds from the SC Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the City of Pickens, Pickens County, and fund raising by SCoP. Renovations have included a new roof, windows, doors, exterior trim, gutters, walls, refinished floors, painting, a handicap ramp, new exterior entrance, renovated restrooms, updated environmental systems, and many other enhancements. Additionally, SCoP constructed from scratch a fully functioning commercial kitchen including the complete replacement of the kitchen waste system. At the end of 2016, the final phase, the Auditorium was completed just before the end of the year providing the City with a 165 seat auditorium with state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems.