Pickens County lies in the northwestern part of South Carolina. Both the county and its seat are named in honor of Revolutionary War general Andrew Pickens.
Cherokee Indians inhabited the area first. However, they often fought with the settlers, so the settlers constructed Fort Prince George in 1753 to keep themselves safe. Much of the Cherokee War took place at this fort. Eventually, the Native Americans ceded control of the region to the United States via a treaty in 1777. As a result of this treaty, the land was absorbed into the Pendleton District. In 1826, this district split into two counties, one of which was Pickens County.
For most of its history, Pickens County’s economy depended on either the growing of cotton or the processing of cotton in textile mills. However, in recent decades manufacturing has become an important and diverse industry in the area.
Notable Pickens County residents include John C. Calhoun and his son-in-law Thomas Green Clemson, who gave his father-in-law’s land to the state so that they could establish an agricultural college. This agricultural college later became Clemson University.
History. Accessed June 10, 2016. http://www.co.pickens.sc.us/History/default.aspx
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Waddy Thompson (1798-1868), Jr., served as a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the backcountry from 1835 to 1841. Born in Pickens, in Ninety-Six District, he graduated from South...
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Rudy Mancke talks about a visit to the Jocassee gorges while he was a nature study leader in Pickens county.
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This lesson is a brief survey of the art, architecture, literature and theatre of South Carolina. It opens with a series of skits where "comedic characters" "put down" South Carolina's interest in...
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The lesson consists of the host and three students visiting Keowee-Toxaway State Park in Pickens County. The story of the Cherokee is told there through drawings and artifacts in a series of display...
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Table Rock Mountain, long a favorite scenic spot of South Carolinians, takes its name from its distinctive shape. A Cherokee legend tells the story that a giant who once lived in the nearby valley had...
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Clemson Extension Agent and Host of "Making It Grow" Amanda McNulty takes a trip to the campus of Clemson University where she talks with Shawn Jadrnicek about the unique ways they help keep the...
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Clemson Extension Agent and Host of "Making It Grow!' visited The Clemson University Outdoor Lab and talked with Director Leslie Conrad about their garden. The Clemson University Outdoor Lab leads a...
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The opening and closing wraparounds take place by an old abandoned tenant farm house in Pickens County near Clemson University. Here the host establishes the location and story line. The Reenactment...
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The SC Commissioner's School for Agriculture is a partnership between Clemson University and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture that provides challenging and enriching college-based...
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As the highest point in South Carolina, Sassafras Mountain boosts tremendous views of three neighboring states: Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. It is also part of the Appalachian Mountains.
