Kershaw County, South Carolina

Kershaw County is a located in the  of. In 2000, its population was 52,647. The 2005 census estimate placed the population at 56,486. Its is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,917 (740 ). 1,881 km² (726 sq mi) of it is land and 36 km² (14 sq mi) of it (1.89%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - southeast
 * - southwest
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 52,647 people, 20,188 households, and 14,918 families residing in the county. The was 28/km² (72/sq mi). There were 22,683 housing units at an average density of 12/km² (31/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 71.61%, 26.29% or , 0.29% , 0.31% , 0.03% , 0.62% from , and 0.84% from two or more races. 1.68% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 20,188 households out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.80% were living together, 13.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.10% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.02.



In the county, the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,804, and the median income for a family was $44,836. Males had a median income of $32,246 versus $22,714 for females. The for the county was $18,360. About 9.70% of families and 12.80% of the population were below the, including 16.90% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

 * , County Seat
 * , County Seat
 * , County Seat
 * , County Seat

History
Kershaw County was named for Joseph Kershaw (1727-1791), an early settler. Originally part of, Kershaw County was formed in 1791 from parts of Claremont, , , and counties. The county seat is, which is the oldest inland city in. This site was settled around 1732 by English traders and farmers who moved inland from.

During the, the British occupied Camden from June 1780 to May 1781. Fourteen battles took place in the area, including the (August 16, 1780) and the  (April 25, 1781).

Kershaw County later produced six men who served in the as  s:  (1822-1894),  (1815-1885),  (1818-1873),  (1819-1882),  (1830-1862), and  (1840-1896). troops under Gen. burned parts of Camden in February 1865.

Statesman and financier (1870-1965) and labor leader  were born in Kershaw County, as was the first  baseball player in the,.

Content from the South Carolina State Library Reference Room

Former South Carolina Governor was also from Kershaw County.