The U.S. state of South Carolina is made up of 46 counties, the maximum allowable by state law. They range in size from 359 square miles (578 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 498,776, despite the state's most populous city, Columbia, being located in Richland County.
History
In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided into parishes corresponding to the parishes of the Church of England. There were also several counties that had judicial and electoral functions. As people settled the backcountry, judicial districts and additional counties were formed. This structure continued and grew after the Revolutionary War. In 1800, all counties were renamed as districts. In 1868, the districts were converted back to counties. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has maps that show the boundaries of counties, districts, and parishes starting in 1682.
Alphabetical list
Defunct parishes, counties and districts
Parishes
Until the late 19th century, the Lowcountry of South Carolina was divided into Parishes which themselves subdivided several "districts"; these civil parishes were based on and generally coincident (even well after disestablishment) with Anglican ecclesiastical parishes.
Counties
- Carteret County
- Craven County
- Granville County
- Orange County
- Lewisburg County 1785-1791
- Winton County present-day Barnwell County
- Liberty County present-day Marion County
- Winyah County former name of Georgetown County
- Claremont County
- Salem County
Districts
- Cheraw District created in 1769
- Camden District created in 1769
- Ninety-Six District created in 1769
- Pinckney District 1791-1798
- Washington District 1785-1798
- Pendleton District created in 1789 from Cherokee lands
Proposed counties
- Birch County proposed in 2013 (portions of Lexington and Richland counties)
Notes
References
- Landrum, John Belton O'Neall (1897) Colonial and revolutionary history of upper South Carolina: embracing for the most part the primitive and colonial history of the territory comprising the original county of Spartanburg with a general review of the entire military operations in the upper portion of South Carolina and portions of North Carolina Shannon and Company, Greenville, South Carolina, OCLCÂ 3492548
http://www.sciway.net/facts/
External links
- Information on County Formation timeline
- Complete South Carolina County Guide
- Map of former parishes of South Carolina South Carolina Department of Archives and History