Counties of South Carolina | |
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Location | State of South Carolina |
Number | 46 |
Populations | 7,369 (Allendale) – 558,036 (Greenville) |
Areas | 392 square miles (1,020 km2) (Calhoun) – 1,358 square miles (3,520 km2) (Charleston) |
Government | |
Subdivisions |
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The U.S. state of South Carolina is made up of 46 counties, the maximum allowable by state law. [1] [2] They range in size from 392 square miles (1,015 square kilometers) in the case of Calhoun County to 1,358 square miles (3,517 square kilometers) in the case of Charleston County. The least populous county is Allendale County, with only 7,369 residents, while the most populous county is Greenville County, with a population of 558,036, despite the state's most populous city, Charleston, being located in Charleston County.
In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided into parishes corresponding to the parishes of 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 converted back to counties. [3] The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has maps that show the boundaries of counties, districts, and parishes starting in 1682. [4]
Historically, county government in South Carolina has been fairly weak. [5] The 1895 Constitution made no provision for local government, effectively reducing counties to creatures of the state. Each county's delegation to the General Assembly, comprising one senator and at least one representative, also doubled as its county council. Under this system, the state senator from each county wielded the most power. [6] From the eighteenth century to 1973, counties in South Carolina performed limited functions such as the provision of law enforcement and the construction of transportation infrastructure. [5]
In 1964, the United States Supreme Court case Reynolds v. Sims required reapportionment according to the principle of "one man, one vote", which resulted in legislative districts crossing county lines. However, it was not until 1973 that the constitution was amended to provide for limited home rule at the county level. [7] This was finally enacted in 1975 with the Home Rule Act, [6] which provided for elected councils in each county. Further, in 1989, all counties were given the authority to exercise broad police powers. [8] Thus, they may enact regulations and ordinances related to the provision or preservation of security, health, peace, and order, so long as the regulation is not inconsistent with state law. [9] Nonetheless, all counties and municipalities in South Carolina lack “fiscal home rule,” meaning they may only enact taxes authorized by the General Assembly. [6]
County ordinances become applicable within municipal boundaries when the municipality and the county make a formal agreement, and the municipality formally adopts the ordinance. [10] Unincorporated areas are governed by the county's land use plans. [11]
County Name | Abbreviation [12] | County Name | Abbreviation [12] |
---|---|---|---|
Abbeville | AB | Greenwood | GN |
Aiken | AK | Hampton | HA |
Allendale | AL | Horry | HR |
Anderson | AN | Jasper | JA |
Bamberg | BA | Kershaw | KE |
Barnwell | BR | Lancaster | LA |
Beaufort | BU | Laurens | LU |
Berkeley | BK | Lee | LE |
Calhoun | CL | Lexington | LX |
Charleston | CH | Marion | MA |
Cherokee | CK | Marlboro | ML |
Chester | CS | McCormick | MC |
Chesterfield | CT | Newberry | NB |
Clarendon | CR | Oconee | OC |
Colleton | CN | Orangeburg | OR |
Darlington | DA | Pickens | PN |
Dillon | DN | Richland | RD |
Dorchester | DR | Saluda | SA |
Edgefield | ED | Spartanburg | SP |
Fairfield | FA | Sumter | SU |
Florence | FL | Union | UN |
Georgetown | GE | Williamsburg | WG |
Greenville | GV | York | YK |
County | FIPS code [13] | County seat [14] | Est. [14] | Origin [15] | Etymology | Population (2023) [16] | Area [17] | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AbbevilleCounty | 001 | Abbeville | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | Abbeville, France | 24,434 | 512 sq mi (1,326 km2) | |
AikenCounty | 003 | Aiken | 1871 | Barnwell County, Edgefield County, Lexington County, and Orangeburg County | William Aiken, founder of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company | 177,130 | 1,080 sq mi (2,797 km2) | |
AllendaleCounty | 005 | Allendale | 1919 | Barnwell County and Hampton County | P.H. Allen, first postmaster of the new county | 7,369 | 412 sq mi (1,067 km2) | |
AndersonCounty | 007 | Anderson | 1826 | Pendleton District | Robert Anderson, American Revolutionary War general and Southern surveyor | 213,076 | 756 sq mi (1,958 km2) | |
BambergCounty | 009 | Bamberg | 1897 | Barnwell County | Francis Marion Bamberg (1838–1905), Confederate general in the American Civil War | 12,974 | 396 sq mi (1,026 km2) | |
BarnwellCounty | 011 | Barnwell | 1798 | Orangeburg County | John Barnwell, South Carolina State Senator and prisoner of war during the American Revolution | 20,447 | 557 sq mi (1,443 km2) | |
BeaufortCounty | 013 | Beaufort | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, colonial proprietary landowner | 198,979 | 923 sq mi (2,391 km2) | |
BerkeleyCounty | 015 | Moncks Corner | 1882 | Charleston County | William Berkeley, colonial proprietary governor and landowner | 255,217 | 1,234 sq mi (3,196 km2) | |
CalhounCounty | 017 | St. Matthews | 1908 | Lexington County and Orangeburg County | John C. Calhoun, U.S. senator from South Carolina | 14,186 | 392 sq mi (1,015 km2) | |
CharlestonCounty | 019 | Charleston | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | King Charles II of England | 424,367 | 1,358 sq mi (3,517 km2) | |
CherokeeCounty | 021 | Gaffney | 1897 | Spartanburg County, Union County, and York County | Cherokee Native Americans | 56,714 | 397 sq mi (1,028 km2) | |
ChesterCounty | 023 | Chester | 1785 | Camden District | Chester, Pennsylvania | 32,226 | 586 sq mi (1,518 km2) | |
ChesterfieldCounty | 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 | 44,031 | 806 sq mi (2,088 km2) | |
ClarendonCounty | 027 | Manning | 1855 | Sumter County | Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, colonial proprietary landowner | 31,004 | 696 sq mi (1,803 km2) | |
ColletonCounty | 029 | Walterboro | 1800 | Charleston County | John Colleton, colonial proprietary landowner | 38,874 | 1,133 sq mi (2,934 km2) | |
DarlingtonCounty | 031 | Darlington | 1785 | Cheraws District | Unknown; possibly Darlington, England | 62,416 | 566 sq mi (1,466 km2) | |
DillonCounty | 033 | Dillon | 1910 | Marion County | James William "J.W." Dillon (1826-1913), founder of the Wilson Short Cut Railroad | 27,698 | 407 sq mi (1,054 km2) | |
DorchesterCounty | 035 | St. George | 1897 | Berkeley County and Colleton County | Dorchester, Massachusetts | 169,833 | 571 sq mi (1,479 km2) | |
EdgefieldCounty | 037 | Edgefield | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | Disputed; either its location on the edge of the state or Edgefield, Norfolk, England | 27,607 | 507 sq mi (1,313 km2) | |
FairfieldCounty | 039 | Winnsboro | 1785 | Camden District | The county's fair fields, as described by colonial Governor Charles Cornwallis | 20,422 | 710 sq mi (1,839 km2) | |
FlorenceCounty | 041 | Florence | 1888 | Clarendon County, Darlington County, Marion County, and Williamsburg County | Florence Harllee (1848-1927), daughter of Wilmington and Manchester Railroad founder W.W. Harllee | 137,214 | 804 sq mi (2,082 km2) | |
GeorgetownCounty | 043 | Georgetown | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | George III of the United Kingdom [18] | 65,731 | 1,035 sq mi (2,681 km2) | |
GreenvilleCounty | 045 | Greenville | 1786 | Washington District | Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War general | 558,036 | 796 sq mi (2,062 km2) | |
GreenwoodCounty | 047 | Greenwood | 1897 | Abbeville County and Edgefield County | Greenwood Plantation, the home of John McGee, the county's largest landowner | 69,460 | 464 sq mi (1,202 km2) | |
HamptonCounty | 049 | Hampton | 1878 | Beaufort County | Wade Hampton III, lieutenant general and cavalry leader in the Confederate States Army and later governor of South Carolina and U.S. senator | 18,122 | 563 sq mi (1,458 km2) | |
HorryCounty | 051 | Conway | 1801 | Georgetown County | Peter Horry, Revolutionary War general | 397,478 | 1,255 sq mi (3,250 km2) | |
JasperCounty | 053 | Ridgeland | 1912 | Beaufort County and Hampton County | William Jasper, Revolutionary War sergeant | 33,544 | 702 sq mi (1,818 km2) | |
KershawCounty | 055 | Camden | 1798 | Claremont County, Fairfield County, Lancaster County, and Richland | Joseph Kershaw, one of the county's pioneering settlers | 69,905 | 740 sq mi (1,917 km2) | |
LancasterCounty | 057 | Lancaster | 1798 | Camden District | Lancaster, England, and the House of Lancaster [19] | 108,215 | 555 sq mi (1,437 km2) | |
LaurensCounty | 059 | Laurens | 1785 | Ninety-Six District | Henry Laurens, president of the Second Continental Congress and prisoner of war during the American Revolution | 68,873 | 724 sq mi (1,875 km2) | |
LeeCounty | 061 | Bishopville | 1902 | Darlington County, Kershaw County, and Sumter County | Robert E. Lee, Confederate general during the Civil War | 15,967 | 411 sq mi (1,064 km2) | |
LexingtonCounty | 063 | Lexington | 1804 | Orangeburg County | Battle of Lexington, opening skirmish of the Revolutionary War | 309,528 | 758 sq mi (1,963 km2) | |
MarionCounty | 067 | Marion | 1800 | Georgetown County | Francis Marion, Revolutionary War general | 28,508 | 494 sq mi (1,279 km2) | |
MarlboroCounty | 069 | Bennettsville | 1785 | Cheraws District | John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general, diplomat, and confidant of monarchs | 25,704 | 486 sq mi (1,259 km2) | |
McCormickCounty | 065 | McCormick | 1914 | Abbeville County, Edgefield County, and Greenwood County | Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper and founder of International Harvester | 9,941 | 394 sq mi (1,020 km2) | |
NewberryCounty | 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" | 38,825 | 647 sq mi (1,676 km2) | |
OconeeCounty | 073 | Walhalla | 1868 | Pickens County | Oconee Native Americans | 81,221 | 674 sq mi (1,746 km2) | |
OrangeburgCounty | 075 | Orangeburg | 1769 | 1769 Judicial District | Prince William V of Orange | 82,820 | 1,128 sq mi (2,922 km2) | |
PickensCounty | 077 | Pickens | 1826 | Pendleton District | Andrew Pickens, governor of South Carolina | 135,495 | 513 sq mi (1,329 km2) | |
RichlandCounty | 079 | Columbia | 1799 | Camden District | The county's rich soil | 425,138 | 772 sq mi (1,999 km2) | |
SaludaCounty | 081 | Saluda | 1896 | Edgefield County | Saluda River | 19,123 | 462 sq mi (1,197 km2) | |
SpartanburgCounty | 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 | 356,698 | 820 sq mi (2,124 km2) | |
SumterCounty | 085 | Sumter | 1798 | Claremont County, Clarendon County, and Salem County | Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War general and U.S. senator from South Carolina | 104,165 | 682 sq mi (1,766 km2) | |
UnionCounty | 087 | Union | 1798 | Ninety-Six District | Union Church, the first Christian place of worship in the area | 26,629 | 515 sq mi (1,334 km2) | |
WilliamsburgCounty | 089 | Kingstree | 1802 | Georgetown District | King William III of England | 29,891 | 937 sq mi (2,427 km2) | |
YorkCounty | 091 | York | 1798 | Camden District | York County, Pennsylvania | 298,320 | 696 sq mi (1,803 km2) |
Until the late 19th century, the South Carolina Lowcountry was divided into parishes which in turn were subdivided several "districts"; these civil parishes were based on and generally coincident (even well after disestablishment) with Anglican ecclesiastical parishes. [20]
Georgetown County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,404. Its county seat is Georgetown. The county was founded in 1769. It is named for George III of the United Kingdom.
Colleton County is a county in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,604. Its county seat is Walterboro. The county is named after Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet, one of the eight Lords Proprietor of the Province of Carolina. After two previous incarnations, the current Colleton County was created in 1800.
Chesterfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 43,273. Its county seat is Chesterfield. The largest community in the county is Cheraw. It is located north of the Midlands, in the Pee Dee region, on its border with North Carolina.
Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 408,235, making it the third-most populous county in South Carolina. Its county seat is Charleston. It is also the largest county in the state by total area, although Horry County has a larger land area. The county was created in 1800 by an act of the South Carolina State Legislature.
Cheraw is a town on the Pee Dee River in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,040 at the 2020 census. The greater Cheraw area in the zip code 29520 has a population of 13,689 according to the 2019 ACS data. It has been nicknamed "The Prettiest Town in Dixie".
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Lowcountry. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,163. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Black, Great Pee Dee, Waccamaw, and Sampit rivers, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina, handling over 960,000 tons of materials a year, while Charleston is the largest.
The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, an Indigenous tribe historically inhabiting the region.
The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an important source of biodiversity in South Carolina.
The Constitution of the State of South Carolina is the governing document of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. The current constitution took effect on December 4, 1895. South Carolina has had six other constitutions, which were adopted in 1669, 1776, 1778, 1790, 1865 and 1868.
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in December 1860, and was one of the founding member states of the Confederacy in February 1861. The bombardment of the beleaguered U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861, is generally recognized as the first military engagement of the war. The retaking of Charleston in February 1865, and raising the flag again at Fort Sumter, was used for the Union symbol of victory.
The 1788 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 24 and 25, 1788 to select five Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The elections resulted in two candidates in support of Washington's administration and three candidates opposed to his policies.
Prince George Winyah Parish Church is an Anglican church in Georgetown, South Carolina. Prince George Winyah is one of the oldest continuous congregations in South Carolina, and the church building is one of the oldest churches in continuous service in South Carolina. Prince George Winyah (Anglican) and Churchyard was named to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.
Peter Horry was an American planter who served as an officer in the southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. He served under the command of Francis Marion, waging a guerilla war against the British and Loyalist forces. Peter Horry was elected to public office, served in the state militia, and oversaw several plantations. He is the namesake of Horry County, South Carolina.
Temple Beth Elohim is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 230 Screven Street in Georgetown, South Carolina, in the United States.
Craven County, South Carolina was one of the three original counties established by the Lords Proprietor of the English colony of Carolana in 1682 to include the colony's lands stretching from Awendaw Creek north to the western shore of Winyah Bay and inland. In 1685, the original county of Berkeley was expanded to include the southwestern part of Craven County, and in 1691, land was added to Craven County from the previously unorganized land to its northeast.
South Carolina government and politics covers the three different branches of government, as well as the state constitution, law enforcement agencies, federal representation, state finances, and state taxes. South Carolina is a state in the United States of America and was the eighth admitted to the Union. The state of South Carolina was preceded by the Crown Colony of South Carolina, a constitutional monarchy which was overthrown during the American Revolution. Presently, South Carolina's government is formed as a representative democracy.
Battery White was an artillery battery constructed by the Confederates during the American Civil War. Built in 1862–63 to defend Winyah Bay on the South Carolina coast, the battery was strongly situated and constructed; however, it was inadequately manned, and was captured without resistance during the final months of the war.
The 1976 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 2, 1976. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were part of the 1976 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Despite fluctuating polls, Carter would carry South Carolina by a margin of 13.04 points over Ford.