Oconee County, South Carolina

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

County Seat: Walhalla
Year Organized: 1868
Square Miles: 625

Court House:

415 S Pine St
County Courthouse
Walhalla, SC 29691-2145

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The name Oconee is generally believed to be derived from a Hitichi (Creek) word meaning "land of springs". When the county was first formed, the name was picked up from the Yuchi Tribe (Creek) which was prevalent around Anderson and Pendleton, the seat of the district government. An alternative theory holds that the name and meaning came from the Cherokee language.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Oconee County, which was formed in 1868 from Pickens County, takes its name from an Indian word. This area in the northwest corner of the state on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains was home to several Indian tribes, including the Creeks and the Cherokees, but the Indians gave up their lands in treaties signed in 1777 and 1785. After the American Revolution, settlers from other parts of the state began moving in, including the Germans from Charleston who founded the town of Walhalla in 1850. In 1856 work began on a tunnel for the Blue Ridge Railroad that would have linked Charleston with Knoxville, Tennessee, but the Civil War ended that project; the unfinished Stumphouse Tunnel can still be seen today. Several Revolutionary War heroes moved to present day Oconee County after the war, including Andrew Pickens (1739-1817), Robert Anderson (1741-1813), and Benjamin Cleveland (1738-1806).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 674 square miles (1,745 km²), of which, 625 square miles (1,620 km²) of it is land and 48 square miles (125 km²) of it (7.15%) is water. The hilly landscape has created a haven for man-made lakes. Three large man-made lakes provide residents with sport fishing, water skiing, and sailing as well as hydroelectric power. The largest lake is Lake Hartwell, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1955 and 1963. Lake Keowee is the second largest lake and the Oconee Nuclear Station operates by the lake. Lake Jocassee is the third largest and is a source of hydroelectric energy, but is also popular for its breathtaking scenery and numerous waterfalls. Bad Creek Reservoir, located in the mountains above Jocassee, is for generating electricity during peak hours. The water level can fall by tens of feet per hour and during off-peak times water is pumped back into the lake for the next peak period. Because of this, boating and swimming are prohibited in the reservoir.

Neighboring Counties:

Jackson County, North Carolina - north
Transylvania County, North Carolina - northeast
Pickens County, South Carolina - east
Anderson County, South Carolina - southeast
Hart County, Georgia - south
Franklin County, Georgia - south
Stephens County, Georgia - southwest
Habersham County, Georgia - west
Rabun County, Georgia - west
Macon County, North Carolina - northwest

Oconee County is one of the few counties in the U.S. to border 10 other counties.

Cities and Towns:

- Salem	town	Incorporated Area
- Seneca	city	Incorporated Area
- Walhalla (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- West Union	town	Incorporated Area
- Westminster	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

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."

Penn Foster High School

Custom Search