Whitestone, often written White Stone, is an unincorporated community on SC 295 about seven miles east-southeast of Spartanburg. Its post office dates to 1827, and its ZIP code is 29386. Local history says the area was once called Rich Hill for its fertile soil, and that it takes its present name from a mineral spring about a mile south, a popular health spa around the turn of the 20th century.
Unlike Glendale, Clifton or Drayton, Whitestone is not a company mill village, at least not one we could document. It is country: houses and farms spread along the highway and side roads. Homes generally rely on septic systems, and natural gas depends on whether a Piedmont main reaches your road; many homes in this part of the county use propane.
Whitestone is unincorporated, so Spartanburg County Building Codes issues plumbing and gas permits. We could not confirm the water provider for every road here, so check your bill. Whitestone is within the Gas Guys service area, and calls are answered 24/7.
Whitestone at a glance
- Natural gas
- Varies: Piedmont where mains run, propane elsewhere. We could not confirm natural gas mains in Whitestone; homes beyond Piedmont's system use propane, and your bill or Piedmont can confirm service at your address.
- Water
- Public water district (confirm the provider on your bill)
- Sewer
- Mostly septic
- Permits
- Spartanburg County Building Codes
- Housing
- Rural houses and farmhouses on larger lots, with some older homes near the SC 295 crossroads.
Plumbing and gas in Whitestone: what to know
Know where the tank is
Before a drain job on a Whitestone house, it helps to know where the septic tank is and when it was last pumped. If the tank is full, no amount of drain cleaning inside the house will fix slow drains for long. Keep a simple sketch of the tank location and pumping dates with your house records.
Propane gas logs
Gas logs on propane are popular in rural homes for backup heat. Vented logs need an open damper and a sound chimney; vent-free logs must be sized for the room and have an oxygen depletion sensor. A yearly service catches clogged burner ports and weak pilots before cold weather.
Lines to the barn and garden
Rural properties often have water run to a barn, shop or garden hydrant. Those lines are usually shallow and forgotten until they freeze or leak. A shutoff valve at the house end of each branch lets you drain them for winter and isolate a leak without shutting off the house.
Rotten egg smell in the hot water
If the hot water smells like rotten eggs but the cold does not, the cause is usually a reaction between the water heater's magnesium anode rod and the water. Swapping to an aluminum-zinc anode often fixes it. If both hot and cold smell, the source is the supply, and the utility is the next call.