List of counties in South Carolina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The U.S. state of South Carolina is made up of 46 counties. This is the maximum allowable by state law.[1]
Contents |
History [change]
In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided into parishes. The parishes matched the Church of England. There were also several counties that had judicial and electoral functions. As people settled the backcountry, judicial districts and additional counties were formed. This structure continued and grew after the Revolutionary War. In 1800, all counties were renamed as districts. In 1868, the districts were changed back to counties.[2] The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has maps that show the boundaries of counties, districts, and parishes starting in 1682.[3]
Alphabetical list [change]
| County |
FIPS Code [4] |
County seat [5] |
Established [5] |
Origin |
Meaning of name |
Population |
Area |
Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | 001 | Abbeville | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | Abbeville, France | 26,167 | 511 sq mi (1,323 km²) |
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| Aiken County | 003 | Aiken | 1871 | Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington, and Orangeburg | William Aiken, founder of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company | 160,099 | 1,080 sq mi (2,797 km²) |
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| Allendale County | 005 | Allendale | 1919 | Barnwell and Hampton | P.H. Allen, first postmaster of the new county | 11,211 | 413 sq mi (1,070 km²) |
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| Anderson County | 007 | Anderson | 1826 | Pendleton District | Robert Anderson, American Revolutionary War general and Southern surveyor | 187,126 | 757 sq mi (1,961 km²) |
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| Bamberg County | 009 | Bamberg | 1897 | Barnwell | Francis Marion Bamberg, Confederate general in the American Civil War | 16,658 | 395 sq mi (1,023 km²) |
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| Barnwell County | 011 | Barnwell | 1798 | Orangeburg | John Barnwell, South Carolina State Senator and prisoner of war during the American Revolution | 23,478 | 557 sq mi (1,443 km²) |
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| Beaufort County | 013 | Beaufort | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, colonial proprietary landowner | 162,233 | 923 sq mi (2,391 km²) |
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| Berkeley County | 015 | Moncks Corner | 1882 | Charleston | William Berkeley, colonial proprietary governor and landowner | 177,843 | 1,228 sq mi (3,181 km²) |
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| Calhoun County | 017 | St. Matthews | 1908 | Lexington and Orangeburg | John C. Calhoun, U.S. Senator from South Carolina and states' rights advocate | 15,185 | 392 sq mi (1,015 km²) |
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| Charleston County | 019 | Charleston | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | King Charles II of England | 350,209 | 1,358 sq mi (3,517 km²) |
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| Cherokee County | 021 | Gaffney | 1897 | Spartanburg, Union, and York | Cherokee Native Americans | 52,327 | 397 sq mi (1,028 km²) |
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| Chester County | 023 | Chester | 1785 | Camden District | Chester, Pennsylvania | 34,068 | 586 sq mi (1,518 km²) |
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| Chesterfield County | 025 | Chesterfield | 1798 | Cheraws District | Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, an Enlightenment-era scholar, government official, and member of the British House of Lords | 42,768 | 806 sq mi (2,088 km²) |
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| Clarendon County | 027 | Manning | 1855 | Sumter | Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, colonial proprietary landowner | 32,502 | 696 sq mi (1,803 km²) |
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| Colleton County | 029 | Walterboro | 1800 | Charleston | John Colleton, colonial proprietary landowner | 38,264 | 1,133 sq mi (2,934 km²) |
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| Darlington County | 031 | Darlington | 1785 | Cheraws District | Darlington, England | 67,394 | 567 sq mi (1,469 km²) |
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| Dillon County | 033 | Dillon | 1910 | Marion | J.W. Dillon, founder of the Wilson Short Cut Railroad | 30,722 | 407 sq mi (1,054 km²) |
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| Dorchester County | 035 | St. George | 1868 | Berkeley and Colleton | Dorchester, Massachusetts | 96,413 | 577 sq mi (1,494 km²) |
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| Edgefield County | 037 | Edgefield | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | Disputed; either its location on the edge of the state or Edgefield, Norfolk, England | 24,595 | 507 sq mi (1,313 km²) |
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| Fairfield County | 039 | Winnsboro | 1785 | Camden District | The county's fair fields, as described by colonial governor Charles Cornwallis | 23,454 | 710 sq mi (1,839 km²) |
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| Florence County | 041 | Florence | 1888 | Clarendon, Darlington, Marion, and Williamsburg | Florence Harllee, wife of Wilmington and Manchester Railroad founder W.W. Harllee | 136,885 | 804 sq mi (2,082 km²) |
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| Georgetown County | 043 | Georgetown | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | King George II of Great Britain | 55,797 | 1,035 sq mi (2,681 km²) |
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| Greenville County | 045 | Greenville | 1798 | Washington District | Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War general | 451,225 | 795 sq mi (2,059 km²) |
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| Greenwood County | 047 | Greenwood | 1897 | Abbeville and Edgefield | Greenwood Plantation, the home of John McGee, the county's largest landowner | 66,271 | 463 sq mi (1,199 km²) |
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| Hampton County | 049 | Hampton | 1787 | Beaufort | Wade Hampton, Congressman from South Carolina and once the nation's wealthiest citizen | 21,386 | 563 sq mi (1,458 km²) |
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| Horry County | 051 | Conway | 1801 | Georgetown | Peter Horry, Revolutionary War general | 269,291 | 1,255 sq mi (3,250 km²) |
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| Jasper County | 053 | Ridgeland | 1912 | Beaufort and Hampton | William Jasper, Revolutionary War sergeant | 24,777 | 700 sq mi (1,813 km²) |
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| Kershaw County | 055 | Camden | 1798 | Claremont, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Richland | Joseph Kershaw, one of the county's pioneering settlers | 52,647 | 740 sq mi (1,917 km²) |
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| Lancaster County | 057 | Lancaster | 1798 | Camden District | Lancaster County, Pennsylvania | 61,351 | 555 sq mi (1,437 km²) |
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| Laurens County | 059 | Laurens | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | Henry Laurens, president of the Second Continental Congress and prisoner of war during the American Revolution | 69,567 | 724 sq mi (1,875 km²) |
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| Lee County | 061 | Bishopville | 1902 | Darlington, Kershaw, and Sumter | Robert E. Lee, Confederate general during the Civil War | 20,119 | 411 sq mi (1,064 km²) |
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| Lexington County | 063 | Lexington | 1804 | Orangeburg | Battle of Lexington, opening skirmish of the Revolutionary War | 262,391 | 758 sq mi (1,963 km²) |
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| Marion County | 067 | Marion | 1800 | Georgetown | Francis Marion, Revolutionary War general | 35,466 | 494 sq mi (1,279 km²) |
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| Marlboro County | 069 | Bennettsville | 1798 | Cheraws District | John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general, diplomat, and confidant of monarchs | 28,818 | 485 sq mi (1,256 km²) |
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| McCormick County | 065 | McCormick | 1914 | Abbeville, Edgefield, and Greenwood | Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper and founder of International Harvester | 9,958 | 394 sq mi (1,020 km²) |
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| Newberry County | 071 | Newberry | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | Disputed; possibly Newbury, Berkshire, England, or from early settlers' notion that the landscape was as "pretty as a new berry" | 36,108 | 647 sq mi (1,676 km²) |
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| Oconee County | 073 | Walhalla | 1868 | Pickens | Oconee Native Americans | 66,215 | 674 sq mi (1,746 km²) |
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| Orangeburg County | 075 | Orangeburg | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | King William V of Orange | 91,582 | 1,128 sq mi (2,922 km²) |
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| Pickens County | 077 | Pickens | 1826 | Pendleton District | Andrew Pickens, Governor of South Carolina | 119,224 | 512 sq mi (1,326 km²) |
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| Richland County | 079 | Columbia | 1799 | Camden District | The county's rich soil | 384,504 | 772 sq mi (1,999 km²) |
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| Saluda County | 081 | Saluda | 1896 | Edgefield | Saluda River | 19,181 | 462 sq mi (1,197 km²) |
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| Spartanburg County | 083 | Spartanburg | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | "Spartan Regiment" of the state militia, which was the key force for victory in the Revolutionary War Battle of Cowpens | 284,307 | 819 sq mi (2,121 km²) |
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| Sumter County | 085 | Sumter | 1798 | Claremont, Clarendon, and Salem | Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War general and U.S. Senator from South Carolina | 104,646 | 682 sq mi (1,766 km²) |
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| Union County | 087 | Union | 1798 | Ninety-Six District | Union Church, the first Christian place of worship in the area | 29,881 | 516 sq mi (1,336 km²) |
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| Williamsburg County | 089 | Kingstree | 1802 | Georgetown District | King William III of England | 37,217 | 937 sq mi (2,427 km²) |
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| York County | 091 | York | 1798 | Camden District | York County, Pennsylvania | 226,073 | 696 sq mi (1,803 km²) |
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Former parishes, counties and districts [change]
Parishes [change]
- St. Luke's Parish formed by the Colonial Assembly on 23 May 1767, located on Hilton Head Island and the adjacent mainland.
Counties [change]
- Craven County formed in 1682 by the Lords Proprietors
- Granville County formed in 1686 by the Lords Proprietors
- Orange County (1785-1791)
- Lewisburg County (1785-1791)
- Winton County is present-day Barnwell County
- Liberty County is present-day Marion County
- Winyah County is the former name of Georgetown County
- Claremont County
- Salem County
Districts [change]
- Cheraw District formed in 1769
- Camden District formed in 1769
- Ninety-Six District formed in 1769
- Pinckney District (1791-1798)
- Washington District (1785-1798)
- Pendleton District formed in 1789 from Cherokee lands
References [change]
- ↑ Section 3, Article VIII of the South Carolina Constitution[1]
- ↑ Edgar, Walter, ed. The South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 230-234, ISBN 1-57003-598-2
- ↑ South Carolina Department of Archives and History maps.
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/codes/sc.html. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/state.cfm&state.cfm&statecode=SC. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
