Spartanburg County, South Carolina: History and Information

Spartanburg County, South Carolina

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

County Seat: Spartanburg
Year Organized: 1785
Square Miles: 811

Court House:

366 N. Church Street
County Courthouse
Spartanburg, SC 29303-3637

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Spartanburg was named for the Spartan Regiment of the American Revolutionary War.

Demographics:

History

Spartanburg County and its county seat were named for the Spartan Regiment, a local militia unit that fought in the Revolutionary War. The county was formed in 1785 as a part of Ninety Six District, and from 1791 to 1799 it was part of Pinckney District. A part of Spartanburg County later went to form Cherokee County in 1897. European settlers, primarily Scotch-Irish, began moving into this area from Pennsylvania and Virginia in the late eighteenth century. For many years the primary occupations were small scale cattle raising and cotton farming. Areas with mineral springs, such as Glenn Springs, were also popular summer resorts for lowcountry residents. Following the Civil War, textile manufacturing became the dominant industry, and Spartanburg County remains an important manufacturing center today. Some well known Spartanburg residents are hymn writer and publisher William Walker (1809-1875), U.S. Army General William C. Westmoreland, and industrialist Roger Milliken

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 819 square miles (2,122 km²), of which, 811 square miles (2,100 km²) of it is land and 8 square miles (21 km²) of it (1.00%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Rutherford County, North Carolina - north

Cherokee County, South Carolina - east

Union County, South Carolina - southeast

Laurens County, South Carolina - south

Greenville County, South Carolina - west

Polk County, North Carolina - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Campobello

town

Incorporated Area

- Central Pacolet

town

Incorporated Area

- Chesnee

city

Incorporated Area

- Cowpens

town

Incorporated Area

- Duncan

town

Incorporated Area

- Greenville

city

Incorporated Area

- Inman

city

Incorporated Area

- Landrum

city

Incorporated Area

- Lyman

town

Incorporated Area

- Pacolet

town

Incorporated Area

- Reidville

town

Incorporated Area

- Spartanburg (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Wellford

city

Incorporated Area

- Woodruff

city

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

Spartanburg County, South Carolina

Spartanburg 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