Dorchester County, South Carolina: History and Information

Dorchester County, South Carolina

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

County Seat: Saint George
Year Organized: 1868
Square Miles: 575

Court House:

P.O. Box 416
County Courthouse
Saint George, SC 29477-0416

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Dorchester is named for Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Demographics:

History

Dorchester County was named for Dorchester, Massachusetts. In 1696, Congregationalists from that town moved south and established a new settlement called Dorchester. Although the town of Dorchester had been abandoned by 1788, the parish in which it was located continued to be referred to as St. George Dorchester. This name was subsequently adopted for the county when it was formed from parts of Colleton and Berkeley counties in 1897. The town of Summerville was settled in the late eighteenth century as a summer resort for planters who wished to escape the malaria prevalent on their rice plantations; the town later became a winter resort also. Middleton Place Gardens, the remains of an old rice plantation, are the oldest landscaped gardens in the country, having been laid out in 1741. Middleton Place was the home of Henry Middleton (1717-1784), president of the Continental Congress, his son Arthur Middleton (1742-1787), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his grandson Henry Middleton (1770-1846), South Carolina Governor, United States Congressman, and Ambassador to Russia.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 square miles (1,494 km²), of which, 575 square miles (1,489 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) of it (0.34%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Berkeley County, South Carolina - east

Charleston County, South Carolina - southeast

Colleton County, South Carolina - southwest

Bamberg County, South Carolina - west

Orangeburg County, South Carolina - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Charleston

city

Incorporated Area

- Harleyville

town

Incorporated Area

- Lincolnville

town

Incorporated Area

- North Charleston

city

Incorporated Area

- Reevesville

town

Incorporated Area

- Ridgeville

town

Incorporated Area

- St. George (County Seat)

town

Incorporated Area

- Summerville

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

South Carolina Counties

Dorchester County, South Carolina

Dorchester 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