South Carolina – Formation of Counties Timeline

Formation Timeline of SC Counties

South Carolina's 46 present-day counties are shown in black type, while counties that no longer exist are shown in red.

Four Counties Created by the Lords Proprietors:

1682	Berkeley	Area around Charleston; combined with Colleton County in 1769 to form Charleston District; separated from Charleston in 1882
	Colleton	Area south of Berkeley County to the Combahee River; combined with Berkeley County in 1769 to form Charleston District; separated from Charleston in 1880
	Craven	Area north of Berkeley County to the North Carolina border
1686	Granville	Area south of Colleton County to the Georgia border

Seven judicial districts created by South Carolina's colonial General Assembly:

1769	Beaufort	From Granville County (see above)
	Charleston	From Berkeley and Colleton Counties (see above)
	Georgetown	From Craven County (see above)
	Cheraws	Area northwest of Georgetown
	Camden	Large area west of Cheraws District
	Ninety Six	Area northwest of Camden District
	Orangeburg	Area southwest of Camden District

Forty counties created after the American Revolution:

1785	Orange	From Orangeburg District; abolished in 1791
	Lewisburg	From Orangeburg District; early version of Lexington County; abolished in 1791
	Winton	From Orangeburg District; early version of Barnwell County; renamed in 1800
	Kingston	From Georgetown District with modern Horry County boundaries designated; renamed Horry District in 1801
	Liberty	From Georgetown District; renamed as Marion County in 1800
	Williamsburg	From Georgetown District; became inactive quickly; revived in 1804
	Winyah	From Georgetown District; renamed as Georgetown County in 1800
	Chesterfield	From Cheraws District
	Darlington	From Cheraws District
	Marlboro	From Cheraws District
	Chester	From Camden District
	Claremont	From Camden District
	Clarendon	From Camden District; absorbed by Sumter District in 1800; then recreated from Sumter about 1855
	Fairfield	From Camden District
	Lancaster	From Camden District
	Richland	From Camden District
	York	From Camden District
	Abbeville	From Ninety Six District
	Edgefield	From Ninety Six District
	Laurens	From Ninety Six District
	Newberry	From Ninety Six District
	Spartanburg	From Ninety Six District
	Union	From Ninety Six District
1786	Greenville	From Cherokee lands
1789	Pendleton	From Cherokee lands
1791	Kershaw	From parts of Claremont, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Richland
	Salem	From parts of Claremont and Clarendon
1800	Barnwell	From Orangeburg
	Georgetown	From Georgetown; later version of Winyah County
	Marion	From Georgetown; later version of Liberty
	Sumter	From Claremont, Clarendon, and Salem
1801	Horry	From Georgetown; later version of Kingston County
1804	Lexington	From Orangeburg; later version of Lewisburg County
1826	Anderson	From Pendleton
	Pickens	From Pendleton
1868		The Constitution of 1868 declared "the Judicial Districts shall hearafter be designated as Counties"
	Oconee	From western part of Pickens
1871	Aiken	From Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington, and Orangeburg
1878	Hampton	From Beaufort
1888	Florence	From Clarendon, Darlington, Marion, Williamsburg
1895	Saluda	From Edgefield
1897	Bamberg	From Barnwell
	Cherokee	From Spartanburg, Union, and York
	Dorchester	From Berkeley and Colleton
	Greenwood	From Abbeville and Edgefield
1902	Lee	From Darlington, Kershaw, and Sumter
1908	Calhoun	From Lexington and Orangeburg
1910	Dillon	From Marlboro
1912	Jasper	From Beaufort and Hampton
1916	McCormick	From Abbeville, Edgefield, and Greenwood
1919	Allendale	From Barnwell and Hampton