County Boundary History:
The boundary history of South Carolina counties is complex,
and it's made the more so because the judicial districts are often confused
with the civil districts (=counties). Ignoring completely the early
division into parishes and simplifying: in 1769, seven judicial districts
were created; in 1785, 34 counties were created within the seven
judicial districts; in 1800, the judicial districts were abolished, and
the counties were re-designated "districts"; in 1868, the districts were
redesignated "counties." For the sake of consistency and to conform
with modern usage, I will refer to the civil districts only as "counties"
and only to the judicial districts as "districts." Because two of
our major progenitors were early to South Carolina, their location history
is given in more detail.
Boundary History of Lexington
County:
Among the seven judicial districts created in 1769 was
the Orangeburg Judicial District. In 1785, four counties were established
within the Orangeburg Judicial District: Orange, Lexington, Lewisburg,
and Winyaws. In 1791, Orange, Lexington, and Lewisburg Counties were
"de-organzied." In 1800, the judicial districts were abolished, and
the counties were redesignated "districts." Orangeburg District (no
longer a judicial district, but now a civil district equivalent to a county)
included the former counties of Orange, Lexington, and Lewisburg.
In 1804, Lexington District was formed from Orangeburg District.
In 1832, Lexington District gained land from Orangeburg District.
In
1868, the districts were redesignated counties. In 1871, Lexington
County lost land to Aiken County. In 1908, Calhoun County was created,
mostly from Orangeburg County and partly from Lexington County. In
1916 and 1950, Lexington County lost small portions to Richland County.
In 1930, Lexington County lost a small portion to Newberry County.
Boundary History of Pickens
County:
Among the seven judicial districts created in 1769 was
the Ninety-Six Judicial District. In 1785, six counties were created
in the Ninety-Six Judicial District; in 1786, a seventh county was created
and added to the Ninety-Six J.D.; in 1789, Pendleton County was created
from Cherokee land and added to the Ninety-Six J.D. In 1791, Washington
Judicial District was created from Ninety-Six J.D. and included Pendleton
County. In 1800, the judicial districts were abolished, and the counties
were redesignated "districts." In 1817, Pendleton District gained
more Indian land. In 1826, Pendleton District was divided into a
northern Pickens District and a southern Anderson District (Pendleton became
extinct). In 1868, the districts were redesignated "counties,"
and Oconee County was created from the western half of Pickens County.
In the 1960s-80s, Pickens County gained some land in its southwestern corner
from Oconee County.
The bottom line is that to insist the names of the divisions
of the state precisely reflect the name at the time (e.g., calling
them "districts" before 1868 and "counties" after 1868) — as someone adamantly
insists I do — would require a great deal of effort, I believe to no useful
purpose, so I simply and uniformly call the divisions "counties."
Source: AniMap Plus: County Boundary Historical
Atlas. Gold Bug, Alamo, CA (on CD). |