On most days, freight trains rumble past vacant storefronts in the center of town, seldom ever stopping anymore. The rail spurs leading to a shuttered grain elevator are brown with rust, the buildings closed off by a chain-link fence.<\/p>\n
Along nearby U.S. Highway 301, the gutted remains of a half-dozen motels recall the days four decades ago when 17 million motorists passed through each year on their way to Florida. That ended when Interstate 95 opened to the east, bypassing Allendale altogether.<\/p>\n
Allendale has been suffering for a long time, but now the recession has worsened its woes, and the town – with a crippling 23.4 percent unemployment rate – stands as perhaps the most distressed spot in one of the most distressed states in America. South Carolina’s jobless rate is 10.4 percent, second only to Michigan’s 11.6 percent.<\/p>\n