Chester County, South Carolina: History and Information

Chester County, South Carolina

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

County Seat: Chester
Year Organized: 1785
Square Miles: 581

Court House:

1476 J.A. Cochran By-Pass
PO Drawer 580
Chester, SC 29706-0580

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Chester is named after Chester, Pennsylvania.

Demographics:

History

Chester County and its county seat were named for Chester County, Pennsylvania. The county was formed in 1785 as part of the larger Camden District but was later transferred to Pinckney District (1791-1800); it became a separate district in 1800. Scotch-Irish settlers from Pennsylvania and Virginia moved into this upstate region beginning about 1755. During the Revolutionary War, American forces under General Thomas Sumter were defeated here at the battle of Fishing Creek in August 1780; the Americans were victorious at Fishdam Ford in November of the same year. The Landsford Canal was built in 1823 to allow boats and barges to bypass rapids on the Catawba River; this canal is now open as a state park. In later years the availability of hydroelectric power encouraged the establishment of textile mills in the area. Governor, U.S. Senator, and judge Donald S. Russell (1906-1997) lived in Chester as a boy.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 586 square miles (1,518 km²), of which, 581 square miles (1,504 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (15 km²) of it (0.96%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

York County, South Carolina - north

Lancaster County, South Carolina - east

Fairfield County, South Carolina - south

Union County, South Carolina - west

Cities and Towns:

- Chester (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Fort Lawn

town

Incorporated Area

- Great Falls

town

Incorporated Area

- Lowrys

town

Incorporated Area

- Richburg

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."

South Carolina State...

South Carolina

South Carolina Counties

Chester County, South Carolina

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

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History

Geography

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

County Resource Guide

Penn Foster High School