Williamsburg County, South Carolina

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

County Seat: Kingstree
Year Organized: 1802
Square Miles: 934

Court House:

P.O. Box 330
County Courthouse
Kingstree, SC 29556-0330

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Williamsburg is named for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II of Great Britain.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Williamsburg County was probably named for King William III of England (1650-1702). Scotch-Irish and French Huguenot settlers began moving into this part of the lowcountry around 1732, and in 1736 the township of Williamsburg was laid out on the Black River in the vicinity of the settlement of Kingstree. This area was part of Prince Frederick Parish, which in turn was part of Georgetown District. In 1804 Williamsburg became a separate district, with the seat at Kingstree. A small part of Williamsburg later went to form Florence County in 1888. During the Revolutionary War many of General Francis Marion's men hailed from this area, including Major John James (1732-1791). The battles of Black Mingo (September 28-29, 1780), Mount Hope Swamp (March 1781), and Lower Bridge (March 1781) were all fought in Williamsburg County. In later years, the county has remained primarily an agricultural region. Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Joseph L. Goldstein grew up in the town of Kingstree.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 937 square miles (2,427 km²), of which, 934 square miles (2,419 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (0.32%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Florence County, South Carolina - north
Marion County, South Carolina - northeast
Georgetown County, South Carolina - southeast
Berkeley County, South Carolina - southwest
Clarendon County, South Carolina - west

Cities and Towns:

- Greeleyville	town	Incorporated Area
- Hemingway	town	Incorporated Area
- Kingstree (County Seat)	town	Incorporated Area
- Lane	town	Incorporated Area
- Stuckey	town	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

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