Newberry County, South Carolina

Newberry County Education, Geography, and History

Newberry County is a county located in the state of South Carolina. Based on the 2010 census, its population was 37,508. Its county seat is Newberry. The name is of unknown origin.

Newberry County comprises the Newberry, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Columbia-Orangeburg-Newberry, SC Combined Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Newberry County Name

The origin of the county's name is still unknown. It is likely an alternate spelling for the English town "Newbury," but the popular notion has always been that the surrounding fields and forests were as pretty as a "new berry."

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Newberry County History

The origin of the county's name is still unknown. It is likely an alternate spelling for the English town "Newbury," but the popular notion has always been that the surrounding fields and forests were as pretty as a "new berry."Newberry is a community filled to its borders with history: ancient Indian sites, battlefields of the American Revolution, historic plantations, and beautiful homes. European settlers (primarily German, Scotch-Irish, and English) began appearing in great numbers in the 1750's. The county was formed in 1785 as a part of Ninety Six District. This part of the upcountry was settled largely by Scotch-Irish, English, and German immigrants in the mid-eighteenth century. Germans were so prevalent in part of Newberry County that it become known as Dutch Fork, with Dutch meaning Deutsch (German). Large scale cotton farming replaced small farms in the nineteenth century, and the coming of the railroad made Newberry a leading cotton market. Historians John Belton O'Neall (1795-1863) and David Duncan Wallace (1874-1951) were Newberry County natives, as was South Carolina Governor and US Senator Coleman L. Blease (1868-1942).

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 647 square miles (1,676 km²), of which, 631 square miles (1,634 km²) of it is land and 17 square miles (43 km²) of it (2.55%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Union County, South Carolina - north
• Fairfield County, South Carolina - east
• Lexington County, South Carolina - southeast
• Richland County, South Carolina - southeast
• Saluda County, South Carolina - south
• Greenwood County, South Carolina - southwest
• Laurens County, South Carolina - northwest

Education

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