Calhoun County, South Carolina: History and Information

Calhoun County, South Carolina

Calhoun County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Saint Matthews
Year Organized: 1908
Square Miles: 380

Court House:

Courthouse Annex, Suite 108
County Courthouse
Saint Matthews, SC 29135-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Calhoun County was named for John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), who served as United States vice president, secretary of state and of war, and senator.

Demographics:

History

Calhoun County was named for John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), who served as United States vice president, secretary of state and of war, and senator. The county seat, the town of St. Matthews, was settled around 1841 in an area that was known for its cotton plantations. The county itself was formed in 1908 from parts of Orangeburg and Lexington counties. During the Revolutionary War a famous incident took place at Fort Motte in present day Calhoun County. Rebecca Motte(1738-1815), a local plantation owner, helped the Revolutionary troops drive the British out of her plantation house; she reportedly provided the soldiers with a burning arrow to destroy her own dwelling. Another famous resident of the area was Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Julia Peterkin (1880-1961), who lived at Lang Syne Plantation.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 392 square miles (1,016 km²), of which, 380 square miles (985 km²) of it is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) of it (3.09%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Richland County, South Carolina - north

Sumter County, South Carolina - northeast

Clarendon County, South Carolina - east

Orangeburg County, South Carolina - south

Lexington County, South Carolina - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Cameron

town

Incorporated Area

- St. Matthews (County Seat)

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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