Lee County, South Carolina: History and Information

Lee County, South Carolina

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

County Seat: Bishopville
Year Organized: 1902
Square Miles: 410

Court House:

P.O. Box 309
County Courthouse
Bishopville, SC 29010-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Lee is named for Robert E. Lee, commanding general of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War.

Demographics:

History

Lee County was named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870). The county was formed in 1902 from parts of Darlington, Kershaw, and Sumter counties. A Revolutionary War skirmish took place in 1781 at Ratcliff's Bridge, and during the Civil War Confederate and Union troops skirmished at Mount Elon and Spring Hill in 1865. Lee County was also the site in 1880 of the last fatal duel fought in South Carolina. Cotton farming has long been associated with this area. U.S. Senator Ellison Durant Smith (1864-1944), a native of Lee County, was nicknamed "Cotton Ed" because of his support for cotton farmers.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 411 square miles (1,065 km²), of which, 410 square miles (1,063 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (3 km²) of it (0.24%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Darlington County, South Carolina - northeast

Florence County, South Carolina - east

Sumter County, South Carolina - south

Kershaw County, South Carolina - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Bishopville (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Lynchburg

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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