Walk the East Home Avenue or West College Avenue historic districts in Hartsville and you see multi-story Victorian-era houses, many built during the town's industrialization under James Lide Coker. Darlington, the county seat, has its own share of late-19th and early-20th century homes. In a lot of these houses, one interior staircase is the only way to the bedrooms upstairs.
Outside those two population centers, Darlington County is mostly rural. Farmhouses and mid-century homes sit on larger lots around Lamar, Dovesville, Pine Ridge, Society Hill and Lydia. This page walks through which kind of stair lift tends to fit these homes and where local families can look for help paying for one.
Much of the housing in Hartsville and Darlington predates universal-design standards. Stairs in older homes are often steep or narrow, and some turn at a landing partway up. That turn is the main thing that decides between a straight rail and a curved one.
A straight stair lift runs on one rail from bottom to top and fits most single, unbroken flights. If the staircase bends, wraps or has a landing, a curved rail is built to follow it. On a home visit we measure the stairs first, so you know which type you need before you talk price.
Hartsville alone counted 3,615 housing units in the 2020 census. For a long-tenured owner in one of these homes, a stair lift is often the step that keeps the upstairs in use instead of forcing a move.
Not every house here is a Victorian. The county also has split-level homes, ranch-style homes, townhouses and walk-up apartments. Each one raises a different question.
Split-level homes have short flights between levels, and some owners need a lift on more than one of them. Ranch-style homes usually keep living space on one floor, so the stairs that matter may lead to a basement or to the front door. Townhouses tend to have a straight interior flight. In a walk-up apartment, talk with the building owner before planning any install.
Darlington County covers 566.25 square miles of flat-to-gently-rolling Pee Dee coastal plain. The 2020 census found 57.1% of residents living in rural areas. Many of those homes are older farmhouses where the hardest steps are the ones outside, up to the porch or the back door.
An outdoor stair lift is built to handle weather on exterior steps. Where a wheelchair user needs to get up a few steps, a platform lift can be the better match, since the person stays in the chair. Rural households often have fewer home-modification contractors nearby than a city would, so it helps to plan the visit and measurements early.
The 2020 census counted 62,905 residents in the county, with a median age of 42.9 and 20.3% age 65 or older. It also found 70.3% of housing units were owner-occupied. That is a large group of older homeowners with a reason to adapt the house they already own.
If someone in your family served, read the VA programs below closely, because one of them pays for home changes but does not cover stair lifts.
No program on this page lists stair lifts by name as a covered item, so the best approach is to ask each office directly. Start with the Pee Dee AAA (Vantage Point) office at 216 South 2nd Street in Hartsville, (843) 383-8632. Their Supportive Services program includes home devices and minor home repair, and a case manager can tell you whether a stair lift qualifies.
Veterans can contact the Darlington County Department of Veterans Affairs at 1 Public Square, Room 310, in Darlington, (843) 398-4130. Statewide options worth asking about include the SC Community Choices Waiver (Medicaid HCBS), the South Carolina Assistive Technology Loan Program and the South Carolina Homestead Exemption (Property-Tax Relief).
VA grants for veterans with specific severe service-connected disabilities to buy, build or adapt a home, with SAH up to $126,526 and SHA up to $25,350 in FY2026. The VA source page does not list stair lifts by name, so ask the Darlington County Department of Veterans Affairs at (843) 398-4130 whether one could fit within an approved project.
A lifetime VA grant ($6,800 or $2,000, depending on disability status) for medically necessary fixed alterations like widened doorways and accessible bathrooms. It does not cover stair lifts; the VA specifically excludes stair glides, so do not send a stair lift request here.
An Older Americans Act program offering limited assistive devices and minor home repair, generally for people age 60+ with limitations in at least two Activities of Daily Living. Stair lifts are not listed by name, so ask a case manager at (800) 868-9095 or the Hartsville office at (843) 383-8632.
A state referral service that points seniors, caregivers and adults with disabilities to local providers through GetCareSC.com; it is not a funding source and does not list a stair lift program. Call (800) 868-9095 to find services near you.
Older adults
216 South 2nd Street, Hartsville, 29551
Veterans
1 Public Square, Room 310, Darlington, 29532
No. The VA's HISA page excludes removable equipment such as porch lifts and stair glides. Veterans should ask about the SAH or SHA grants instead, through the Darlington County Department of Veterans Affairs at (843) 398-4130.
The Pee Dee AAA (Vantage Point) runs Supportive Services that include home devices and minor home repair, generally for people 60+ with limitations in at least two Activities of Daily Living. Stair lifts are not named, so call (843) 383-8632 and ask whether one qualifies.
Often, yes. Many homes in the East Home Avenue and West College Avenue districts have one interior staircase to the upper floors. A straight rail fits a single flight, and a curved rail is built for stairs that turn or have a landing.
An outdoor stair lift is made for exterior steps and weather. If the person uses a wheelchair, a platform lift may make more sense because they can stay seated in the chair.
The Darlington County Department of Veterans Affairs is at 1 Public Square, Room 310, Darlington, SC 29532. The phone number is (843) 398-4130.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
