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About Sumter County... |
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Sumter County, SC, and its County seat, the City of Sumter, were named for Revolutionary War General Thomas Sumter (1734-1832), who was a resident of the area. Because of its growth in the 1990's, Sumter is designated a "Metropolitan Statistical Area" (MSA). 
Sumter County has changed its name and boundaries several times.
In 1785, Claremont County was formed as a part of Camden District; a part of the County was later split off in 1791 to form Salem County.
Claremont, Clarendon, and Salem counties were combined into Sumter District in 1800.
Clarendon was once again split off in 1857, however, and another small part of Sumter County went to form Lee County in 1902.
This part of the state began attracting English settlers from the lowcountry and from Virginia in the mid-eighteenth century.
The area known as the High Hills of Santee, a narrow ridge along the Wateree River, was famous for its healthy climate and rich soil.
Sumter County eventually became a leading agricultural and industrial region.
During the Civil War, General Edward Potter's Union troops raided the area, and a skirmish was fought at Dingle's Mill on April 9, 1865.
In 1941, Shaw Air Force Base was established near Sumter, and it continues today as an active duty fighter base.
Confederate General Richard Heron Anderson (1821-1879) was a Sumter resident, as were opera singer Clara Louise Kellogg (1842-1916) and educator Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955).
SUMTER'S CLIMATE: FOUR SEASONS, MILD WINTERS.  Anyone looking for an active year-round retirement community will like the Sumter climate. Mild winters make it possible to golf, hunt, fish, jog and enjoy year-round outdoor sports and recreation practically every day of the year.
Perhaps May is the most colorful and celebrated month of Sumter's year, when its World-Famous Iris Gardens burst into bloom around the 20-acre Swan Lake City Park. Children of all ages delight in feeding the hundreds of graceful swans that make this attraction one of Sumter's most photographed settings.
Even an occasional cold spell that may come in January or February usually only lasts one or two days. Midday temperatures allow for golf "sweater-weather" almost every day from December to February. The remaining nine months, when the Northeast and Midwest may still be enduring the rigors of winter, Sumter golfers are adding to their golden suntans! Sumter does enjoy the four seasons. Gorgeous azaleas and dogwoods welcome the warm spring days of March and April. Brilliant foliage colors of reds, yellows and orange mark the cooler nights of October and November. Find out about U.S. Census Statistical Data for South Carolina Find U.S. Census Bureau "Quick Facts" Data for Sumter County Check out U.S. Census Bureau Data for All SC Counties
View the Vintage Photo Pages of: • Sumter's Main Street Pedestrian Shopping Mall (c. early/mid 1970's):
Pedestrian Mall Photos
• See photographs of the Sumter County Courthouse and surrounding buidings: Courthouse • Mayor Bubba: "Mayor Bubba's" Purdy Street News; for news and muse(ings) and local interest doings around and about Sumter: Mayor Bubba • See also the Sumter County Historical Commission Webpage: County Historical Commission |
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