Laurens

Laurens County lies in the Piedmont of South Carolina, with the Enoree River, the Saluda River, and Lake Greenwood comprising some of its borders.

Laurens County lies in the Piedmont of South Carolina, with the Enoree River, the Saluda River, and Lake Greenwood comprising some of its borders. The county was founded in 1785 with land from the Ninety-Six District. Laurens serves as the county seat.

Cherokee Indians lived in the area first. However, in 1753 John Duncan, a native of Scotland, moved from Pennsylvania and established the first settlement in the area. As a result, a great number of Scotch-Irish and English moved to the settlement, leading to a unique amount of loyalty to the British during the Revolutionary War.

The Revolutionary War had a great impact on Laurens County. A number of Revolutionary War battles, such as the battle of Musgrove’s Hill, occurred in Laurens County. Additionally, the county and its seat are named after Henry Laurens, who served as president of the Continental Congress.

Cotton has played a large role in Laurens County throughout much of its history. Before the Civil War, cotton plantations dominated the county’s economy. After the Civil War, the county continued to rely on growing cotton, this time in the form of sharecropping. The county easily transitioned from the sharecropping of cotton into the spinning of cotton and the textile industry. Mill villages arose out of this industry and defined the county’s economy and culture through World War II.

More recently, the textile and agricultural industries that once dominated Laurens County have diminished. The county’s economy now relies much more on manufacturing and distribution.

Continental Congress. June 09, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/continental-congress

Hunter, John | South Carolina Public Radio

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"H" is for Hunter, John (d. 1802). Congressman, U.S. senator. Little is known about Hunter’s early life. He owned considerable real estate in Pendleton District. In 1785, he was elected to the General...

Evolution Of Football Uniforms And Equipment | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Football uniforms and equipment have changed a great deal during the 20th century. The helmets and nose guards of these players at Laurens High School in 1909 were made of leather. Courtesy of the...

The Laurens County Courthouse | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Laurens, carved out of the Ninety Six District in 1785 and named after Henry Laurens (see Henry Laurens), was, like much of the backcountry, settled by Scotch-Irish in the pre-Revolutionary period...

Row Of Mill Houses In Clinton, 1908 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Lewis Hine photographed this row of mill houses in Clinton in 1908, but the town is better known as the home of Presbyterian College, founded by the Reverend William Plumer Jacobs, a Presbyterian...

Union Station | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 12

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Union Station, Columbia, in 1962, after the heyday of the railroads had passed. At its height, the Union Station served passenger trains of the Atlantic Coast Line, the Southern Railway and the...

Fuller, William Edward | South Carolina Public Radio

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"F" is for Fuller, William Edward [1875-1958] Clergyman.

Whitten Center | South Carolina Public Radio

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"W" is for Whitten Center.

Ann Pamela Cunningham | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 48

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Best known as the "Savior of Mount Vernon," Ann Pamela Cunningham (1816-1875) had the distinction, for a long time, of being the only woman whose portrait hung in the South Carolina State House. From...

William Watts Ball | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 12

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William Watts Ball (1868-1952) was the long-time editor of the Charleston "News and Courier." Born in Laurens County, he grew up during Reconstruction, and, according to legend, held Wade Hampton's...

Laurens County - Laurens County Training School

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Laurens County Training School opened in 1924 in a building constructed with assistance from the Rosenwald Fund, taught grades 8-11 until 1948. This school, at first emphasizing farming and homemaking...

Old 96 District | A Natural State

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The Old 96 District is comprised of Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick counties. Ninety Six was the site of the first Southern land battle of the Revolutionary War. The Burt-Stark...

Gray Court | ETV Shorts

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Located in the northwest corner of Laurens County, the town of Gray Court is full of many historic homes and churches. The town offers history buffs a chance to walk through a pioneer village and...

Laurens County Economic Development | ETV Shorts

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Laurens County is strategically located between two major highways and three metropolitan cities, which makes it a perfect location for economic development.

Ann Pamela Cunningham | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Ann Pamela Cunningham (1816-1868) was a South Carolinian from Laurens County who led the effort to restore and preserve Mount Vernon, George Washington’s ancestral home in Virginia. She served as...

The Land

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The unique geology of the "Fall Line " forms rocky, whitewater rapids typical of the Blue Ridge on the Saluda River near Columbia, South Carolina. Much of the land along this section of river is...