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South Carolina Counties
South Carolina CountiesSouth Carolina is made up of 46 counties. They range in size from 392 square miles (1,016 square kilometers) in the case of Calhoun County to 1,358 square miles (3,517 square kilometers) in the case of Charleston County. The least populous county is McCormick County, with only 9,958 residents, while the most populous county is Greenville County, with a population of 395,357, despite the state's most populous city, Columbia, being located in Richland County. |
Sumter County, South CarolinaSumter County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameSumter is named for Thomas Sumter, a Continental leader during the American Revolutionary War. Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistorySumter County and its county seat were named for Revolutionary War General Thomas Sumter (1734-1832), who was a resident of the area. This county has changed its name and boundaries several times. In 1785 Claremont County was formed as a part of Camden District; a part of the county was later split off in 1791 to form Salem County. Claremont, Clarendon, and Salem counties were combined into Sumter District in 1800. Clarendon was once again split off in 1857, however, and another small part of Sumter County went to form Lee County in 1902. This part of the state began attracting English settlers from the lowcountry and from Virginia in the mid-eighteenth century. The area known as the High Hills of Santee, a narrow ridge along the Wateree River, was famous for its healthy climate and rich soil. Sumter County eventually became a leading agricultural region. In 1941, Shaw Air Force Base was established near Sumter, and it continues today as an active duty fighter base. Confederate General Richard Heron Anderson (1821-1879) was a Sumter resident, as were opera singer Clara Louise Kellogg (1842-1916) and educator Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955). GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 682 square miles (1,766 kmē), of which, 665
square miles (1,723 kmē) of it is land and 17 square miles (43 kmē) of it (2.44%) is water. Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
County Resources:Enter County Resources and Information Here |
County Resources
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The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define
the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local.
And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions,
reflects the "characteristic features of this 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." |