List of counties in South Carolina

Counties of South Carolina
Location	State of South Carolina
Number	46
Populations	10,233 (McCormick) – 451,225 (Greenville)
Areas	392 square miles (1,020 km^2) (Calhoun) – 1,255 square miles (3,250 km^2) (Horry)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	cities, towns, unincorporated communities, census designated place

The U.S. state of South Carolina is made up of 46 counties, the maximum allowable by state law.^[1] They range in size from 359 square miles (578 square kilometers) in the case of Calhoun County to 1,133 square miles (2,935 square kilometers) in the case of Horry County. The least populous county is McCormick County, with only 9,958 residents, while the most populous county is Greenville County, with a population of 451,225, despite the state's most populous city, Columbia, being located in Richland County.

History

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.^[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

County	FIPS County Code [4]	County seat [5]	Established [5]	Origin	Etymology	Population	Area	Map
Abbeville County	001	Abbeville	1785	Ninety-Six District	Abbeville, France	25,417	511 sq mi (1,323 km^2)
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 km^2)
Allendale County	005	Allendale	1919	Barnwell and Hampton	P.H. Allen, first postmaster of the new county	10,419	413 sq mi (1,070 km^2)
Anderson County	007	Anderson	1826	Pendleton District	Robert Anderson, American Revolutionary War general and Southern surveyor	187,126	757 sq mi (1,961 km^2)
Bamberg County	009	Bamberg	1897	Barnwell	Francis Marion Bamberg, Confederate general in the American Civil War	15,987	395 sq mi (1,023 km^2)
Barnwell County	011	Barnwell	1798	Orangeburg	John Barnwell, South Carolina State Senator and prisoner of war during the American Revolution	22,261	557 sq mi (1,443 km^2)
Beaufort County	013	Beaufort	1769	1769 Judicial District	Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, colonial proprietary landowner	162,233	576 sq mi (1,492 km^2)
Berkeley County	015	Moncks Corner	1882	Charleston	William Berkeley, colonial proprietary governor and landowner	177,843	1,228 sq mi (3,181 km^2)
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 km^2)
Charleston County	019	Charleston	1769	1769 Judicial District	King Charles II of England	350,209	916.09 sq mi (2,373 km^2)
Cherokee County	021	Gaffney	1897	Spartanburg, Union, and York	Cherokee Native Americans	55,342	397 sq mi (1,028 km^2)
Chester County	023	Chester	1785	Camden District	Chester, Pennsylvania	33,140	586 sq mi (1,518 km^2)
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	46,734	806 sq mi (2,088 km^2)
Clarendon County	027	Manning	1855	Sumter	Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, colonial proprietary landowner	34,971	696 sq mi (1,803 km^2)
Colleton County	029	Walterboro	1800	Charleston	John Colleton, colonial proprietary landowner	38,892	1,133 sq mi (2,934 km^2)
Darlington County	031	Darlington	1785	Cheraws District	Darlington, England	68,681	567 sq mi (1,469 km^2)
Dillon County	033	Dillon	1910	Marion	J.W. Dillon, founder of the Wilson Short Cut Railroad	32,062	407 sq mi (1,054 km^2)
Dorchester County	035	St. George	1868	Berkeley and Colleton	Dorchester, Massachusetts	136,555	577 sq mi (1,494 km^2)
Edgefield County	037	Edgefield	1785	Ninety-Six District	Disputed; either its location on the edge of the state or Edgefield, Norfolk, England	26,985	507 sq mi (1,313 km^2)
Fairfield County	039	Winnsboro	1785	Camden District	The county's fair fields, as described by colonial governor Charles Cornwallis	23,956	710 sq mi (1,839 km^2)
Florence County	041	Florence	1888	Clarendon, Darlington, Marion, and Williamsburg	Florence Harllee, daughter of Wilmington and Manchester Railroad founder W.W. Harllee	136,885	804 sq mi (2,082 km^2)
Georgetown County	043	Georgetown	1769	1769 Judicial District	King George II of Great Britain	60,158	813.55 sq mi (2,107 km^2)
Greenville County	045	Greenville	1786	Washington District	Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War general	451,225	795 sq mi (2,059 km^2)
Greenwood County	047	Greenwood	1897	Abbeville and Edgefield	Greenwood Plantation, the home of John McGee, the county's largest landowner	69,661	463 sq mi (1,199 km^2)
Hampton County	049	Hampton	1787	Beaufort	Wade Hampton, Congressman from South Carolina and once the nation's wealthiest citizen	21,090	563 sq mi (1,458 km^2)
Horry County	051	Conway	1801	Georgetown	Peter Horry, Revolutionary War general	269,291	1,134 sq mi (2,937 km^2)
Jasper County	053	Ridgeland	1912	Beaufort and Hampton	William Jasper, Revolutionary War sergeant	24,777	700 sq mi (1,813 km^2)
Kershaw County	055	Camden	1798	Claremont, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Richland	Joseph Kershaw, one of the county's pioneering settlers	61,697	740 sq mi (1,917 km^2)
Lancaster County	057	Lancaster	1798	Camden District	Lancaster County, Pennsylvania	76,652	555 sq mi (1,437 km^2)
Laurens County	059	Laurens	1785	Ninety-Six District	Henry Laurens, president of the Second Continental Congress and prisoner of war during the American Revolution	66,537	724 sq mi (1,875 km^2)
Lee County	061	Bishopville	1902	Darlington, Kershaw, and Sumter	Robert E. Lee, Confederate general during the Civil War	19,220	411 sq mi (1,064 km^2)
Lexington County	063	Lexington	1804	Orangeburg	Battle of Lexington, opening skirmish of the Revolutionary War	262,391	758 sq mi (1,963 km^2)
Marion County	067	Marion	1800	Georgetown	Francis Marion, Revolutionary War general	33,062	494 sq mi (1,279 km^2)
Marlboro County	069	Bennettsville	1785	Cheraws District	John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general, diplomat, and confidant of monarchs	28,933	485 sq mi (1,256 km^2)
McCormick County	065	McCormick	1914	Abbeville, Edgefield, and Greenwood	Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper and founder of International Harvester	10,233	394 sq mi (1,020 km^2)
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"	37,508	647 sq mi (1,676 km^2)
Oconee County	073	Walhalla	1868	Pickens	Oconee Native Americans	74,273	674 sq mi (1,746 km^2)
Orangeburg County	075	Orangeburg	1769	1769 Judicial District	Prince William V of Orange	92,501	1,128 sq mi (2,922 km^2)
Pickens County	077	Pickens	1826	Pendleton District	Andrew Pickens, Governor of South Carolina	119,224	512 sq mi (1,326 km^2)
Richland County	079	Columbia	1799	Camden District	The county's rich soil	384,504	772 sq mi (1,999 km^2)
Saluda County	081	Saluda	1896	Edgefield	Saluda River	19,875	462 sq mi (1,197 km^2)
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 km^2)
Sumter County	085	Sumter	1798	Claremont, Clarendon, and Salem	Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War general and U.S. Senator from South Carolina	107,456	682 sq mi (1,766 km^2)
Union County	087	Union	1798	Ninety-Six District	Union Church, the first Christian place of worship in the area	28,961	516 sq mi (1,336 km^2)
Williamsburg County	089	Kingstree	1802	Georgetown District	King William III of England	34,423	937 sq mi (2,427 km^2)
York County	091	York	1798	Camden District	York County, Pennsylvania	226,073	696 sq mi (1,803 km^2)

Defunct parishes, counties and districts

Parishes

Until the late 19th century, the Lowcountry of South Carolina was divided into Parishes which themselves subdivided several "districts"; these civil parishes were based on and generally coincident (even well after disestablishment) with Anglican ecclesiastical parishes.^[6]

• St. Helena's Parish (Beaufort District)
• St. Luke's Parish (Beaufort District) created on 23 May 1767, located on Hilton Head Island and the adjacent mainland
• St. Peter's Parish (Beaufort District)
• Prince William Parish (Beaufort District)
• St. Andrew's Parish (Charleston District)
• St. Bartholomew's Parish (Charleston District)
• St. John's Colleton Parish (Charleston District)
• St. George's Dorchester Parish (Charleston District)
• St. Philip's & St. Michael's Parish (Charleston District)
• Christchurch Parish (Charleston District)
• St. James' Goose Creek Parish (Charleston District)
• St. Thomas' & St. Denis' Parish (Charleston District)
• St. John's Berkeley Parish (Charleston District)
• St. Stephen's Parish (Charleston District)
• St. James' Santee Parish (Charleston District)
• St. Paul's Parish (Charleston District)
• All Saints' Parish (Georgetown District)
• Prince George, Winyah, Parish (Georgetown District)
• Prince Frederick Parish (Georgetown District)
• St. David's Parish (Cheraw District)
• St. Mark's Parish (Cheraw District)
• St. Matthew's Parish (Orangeburgh District)

Counties

• Carteret County
• Craven County
• Granville County
• Orange County
• Lewisburg County 1785-1791
• Winton County present-day Barnwell County
• Liberty County present-day Marion County
• Winyah County former name of Georgetown County
• Claremont County
• Salem County

Districts

• Cheraw District created in 1769
• Camden District created in 1769
• Ninety-Six District created in 1769
• Pinckney District 1791-1798
• Washington District 1785-1798
• Pendleton District created in 1789 from Cherokee lands

Proposed counties

• Birch County proposed in 2013 (portions of Lexington and Richland counties)

Notes

1. Section 3, Article VIII of the South Carolina Constitution
2. Edgar, Walter, ed. The South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 230-234, ISBN 1-57003-598-9
3. South Carolina Department of Archives and History maps.
4. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
5. National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Retrieved 2007-04-26.
6. http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/SC_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm. Missing or empty |title= (help)

References

• Landrum, John Belton O'Neall (1897) Colonial and revolutionary history of upper South Carolina: embracing for the most part the primitive and colonial history of the territory comprising the original county of Spartanburg with a general review of the entire military operations in the upper portion of South Carolina and portions of North Carolina Shannon and Company, Greenville, South Carolina, OCLC 3492548

http://www.sciway.net/facts/

External links

• Information on County Formation timeline
• Complete South Carolina County Guide
• Map of former parishes of South Carolina South Carolina Department of Archives and History