South Carolina: Florence County

Florence County (pop. 136,885) is west of Marion County. The only other Florence County is in Wisconsin.

The county seat is the city of Florence (pop. 37,056). It’s the eastern terminus of Interstate 20 (going west to Texas) and is about halfway between New York City and Miami on Interstate 95.

653 miles to Miami, 624 miles to New York City

The central library for Florence County is the Doctors Bruce and Lee Foundation Library in Florence; it was built in 2004 for a cost of $13.5 million.

It has the largest children’s library in the state.

Francis Marion University is about six miles east of Florence. The public university has about 4,000 students.

Established in 1970

The city of Timmonsville (pop. 2,320), birthplace of auto racer Cale Yarborough, has a large Honda plant that produces all-terrain vehicles.

The plant’s 2.5-millionth ATV, in 2012

The city of Lake City (pop. 6,478) was the hometown of Ronald McNair, one of the seven astronauts who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.

He had a Ph.D. in physics from MIT.

Mars Bluff, an unincorporated area east of Florence, was accidentally bombed with a nuclear weapon by a U.S. Air Force B-47 in 1958. About 7,600 pounds of conventional explosives exploded, destroying one home and creating a 30-foot-deep crater.

The fissionable uranium and plutonium were not in the Mark 6 bomb at the time.

NEXT: CLARENDON COUNTY

South Carolina: Marion County

May17

Marion County (pop. 33,062) is south of Dillon County. It’s one of 17 Marion counties in the U.S. – most of them named for Francis Marion (1732-1795), a South Carolinian and hero of the Revolutionary War.

It’s shaped something like Laos.

Leslie Nielsen played the role of Gen. Marion in the 1959-61 Walt Disney TV series “The Swamp Fox.”

Years before “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun”

The county seat of Marion County is Marion (pop. 6,939).

Statue of Francis Marion

Marion has an annual Fox Trot Festival.

Marion High School Marching Band

The Marion County Courthouse was built in 1853.

Restored in 1970

The city of Mullins (pop. 4,663) is the home of the South Carolina Tobacco Museum.

It opened in 1998.

NEXT: FLORENCE COUNTY

South Carolina: Dillon County

May15

Dillon County (pop. 32,062), northwest of Horry County, is best known for South of the Border, a roadside attraction located along Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 301/501 just south of the border with North Carolina.

Often compared to Wall Drug in South Dakota

South of the Border has restaurants, shops (including fireworks for sale), gas stations, a motel, and a small amusement park.

The 165-foot Sombrero Tower

Dillon County was named for James M. Dillon (1826-1913), a prominent local citizen.

The county seat is the city of Dillon (pop. 6,788).

Dillon County Courthouse (1911)

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, grew up in Dillon. As a teen-ager, he waited tables at a South of the Border restaurant.

Valedictorian at Dillon High School

Amtrak’s “Palmetto” train from New York City to Savannah stops in Dillon.

The station was built in 1904.

NEXT: MARION COUNTY

South Carolina: Horry County

May13

Horry County is South Carolina’s second-largest county in size and fifth-largest county in population (269,291). It borders North Carolina on the northeast and the Atlantic Ocean on the southeast.

With its many miles of beaches, Horry County is a popular area for tourism and retirement; its population is about four times as large as it was in 1970 (69,992).

Surfside Beach

The county is named for Peter Horry (1743-1815), a Revolutionary War hero.

No other county is named for him.

This northeastern part of South Carolina is called the Pee Dee region, named for the Pee Dee Indians who lived in the area.

Pee Dee River watershed

The county seat of Horry County is Conway (pop. 16,317).

Conway City Hall (original county Courthouse, 1825)

TV personality Vanna White was born in Conway in 1957.

She’s been on “Wheel of Fortune” since 1982.

Conway has a Riverwalk along the Waccamaw River.

The 140-mile-long river starts in North Carolina.

Coastal Carolina University is in Conway. Founded in 1954, it has about 8,000 students.

Wall School of Business

Myrtle Beach (pop. 27,109) is the largest city in Horry County. It’s along the Grand Strand – a nearly uninterrupted stretch of 60 miles of South Carolina beach.

The Miniature Golf Capital of the World

Since 2010, Myrtle Beach has added a one-mile Boardwalk and the 187-foot-tall SkyWheel.

One of America’s tallest Ferris wheels

NEXT: DILLON COUNTY

South Carolina: Georgetown County

May10

Georgetown County (pop. 60,158), east of Williamsburg County, is the only Georgetown County in the U.S. It was named for King George II of England.

The county seat is the city of Georgetown (pop. 9,163). In the 1840s, it was the largest rice-exporting port in the world.

Shrimp boats in Georgetown Harbor, Winyah Bay

Georgetown is the third-oldest city in South Carolina.

Downtown Georgetown

Hobcaw Barony, near Georgetown, has a 17,000-acre wildlife refuge and more than 40 historic buildings.

Winter home of presidential advisor Bernard Baruch

Mansfield Plantation is a former rice plantation in Georgetown, now open to visitors. It was established in 1718 along the Black River.

Parts of Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot” were filmed there.

Brookgreen Gardens, northeast of Georgetown, is a 9,000-acre wildlife preserve with several themed gardens. It was built on four former rice plantations.

It opened in 1932.

NEXT: HORRY COUNTY

South Carolina: Williamsburg County

May8

Williamsburg County (pop. 34,423) is northeast of Berkeley County. It’s the only Williamsburg County in the U.S.

Williamsburg County and the city of Williamsburg, Va., were both named for King William III of England (William of Orange), who lived from 1650 to 1702.

Virginia’s College of William and Mary was named for William and his queen.

The county seat of Williamsburg County is Kingstree (pop. 3,328), originally called Williamsburg and later King’s Tree.

Williamsburg County Courthouse (1823)

A tall white pine tree was found in the area in the 1700s; King George I claimed the tallest white pines in the colonies for the Royal Navy.

Perfect for a ship’s mast

The 151-mile Black River flows through Kingstree; the dark water is the result of tannins from the swampy vegetation.

Black River near Kingstree

Amtrak’s “Palmetto” train stops daily in Kingstree, going north to Washington, D.C., and south to Savannah.

Built in 1909 for the Atlantic Coast Line

The town of Andrew (pop. 2,861) was the birthplace of comedian-actor Chris Rock (1965) and singer Chubby Checker (1941).

“The Twist” was a big hit in 1960.

NEXT: GEORGETOWN COUNTY

South Carolina: Berkeley County

May6

Berkeley County (pop. 177,843) is South Carolina’s second-largest county in square miles. Parts of Charleston and North Charleston extend into Berkeley County.

Lake Moultrie, in Berkeley County, is South Carolina’s third-largest lake. It was created in the 1940s by the construction of Pinopolis Dam on the Cooper River.

The lake has alligators.

Berkeley County was named for John and William Berkeley, co-owners of the Province of Carolina.

The city in California was named for George Berkeley.

The county seat of Berkeley County is Moncks Corner (pop. 5,952). A major attraction in Moncks Corners is Cypress Gardens, a 170-acre preserve.

Boat tours are given on the former rice reservoir.

Goose Creek (pop. 35,938) is the largest city located entirely within Berkeley County. Naval Support Activity Charleston is in Goose Creek.

Formerly the Naval Weapons Station Charleston

The town of Jamestown (pop. 97) hosts the annual Hell Hole Swamp Festival. The winners of the 10K Gator Run receive alligator head trophies.

There’s also a Miss Hell Hole Swamp contest.

NEXT: WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY

South Carolina: Dorchester County

May3

Dorchester County (pop. 136,555) is north of Charleston County.

It was named for Dorchester County, Massachusetts. Congregationalists from Massachusetts were the first settlers in the area in 1696.

Dorchester is now a neighborhood on the south side of Boston.

The county seat of Dorchester County is St. George (pop. 2,084), which hosts the World Grits Festival in April.

The “Rolling in Grits” Contest

Summerville (pop. 43,382) is the largest city in Dorchester County. Its annual Flowertown Festival is the largest arts and crafts festival in South Carolina.

The festival began in 1941.

Summerville is known as “The Flower Town in the Pines.” It was founded as a summer resort area for rice planters.

Parts of Summerville are in Berkeley and Charleston counties.

Middleton Place is a former rice plantation, across the Ashley River from North Charleston. It opened to the public in the 1920s.

The oldest landscaped garden in the U.S.

The plantation was the historic home of the Middleton family; Henry Middleton (1717-1784) was the first presiding officer of the Continental Congress.

The home was burned during the Civil War and later restored.

NEXT: BERKELEY COUNTY

South Carolina: Charleston County

May1

Charleston County is along the Atlantic coast, east of Colleton County. It’s the largest county in South Carolina in square miles, and the third-largest in population (350,209).

The county seat is Charleston, the oldest (founded in 1670) and second largest (pop. 124,672) city in South Carolina.

It was originally Charles Towne, in honor of King Charles II

The tallest building in Charleston is St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, built in 1872.

255 feet tall

The city is on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers.

Charleston Harbor

The Civil War began in 1861 at Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor.

Now part of Fort Sumter National Monument

Stephen Colbert, host of TV’s “The Colbert Report,” grew up in Charleston.

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1964.

Charleston is the home of The Citadel (The Military College of South Carolina) and the College of Charleston.

One of six “senior military colleges” in the U.S.

The novel “Porgy” by DuBose Heyward (1925) and the opera “Porgy and Bess” (1935) were set in Charleston.

Music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Heyward

The adjacent city of North Charleston is North Carolina’s third-largest city, with a population of 101,356. It was the home of the Charleston Naval Shipyard.

Opened in 1901, closed in 1996

Sullivan’s Island, at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, was the point of entry for approximately 40 percent of the African slaves who came to British North America.

Folly Beach, on Folly Island, is a popular spot for surfing.

Folly Beach pier

NEXT: DORCHESTER COUNTY

South Carolina: Colleton County

Apr29

Colleton County (pop. 38,892), east of Hampton County, is the fourth-largest county (in square miles) in South Carolina.

The only Colleton County in the U.S., it was named for Sir John Colleton – one of the eight “Lords Pr0prietors” who were granted the land called Carolina by King Charles II of England.

They introduced the cultivation of rice to the area.

The 35-acre Colleton State Park has access to the Edisto River.

One of the state’s smallest state parks

The county seat of Colleton County is Walterboro (pop. 5,398), which was founded in 1783 as a hilly summer retreat for local planters.

Courthouse, built in 1820 in Greek Revival style

Walterboro hosts the Colleton County Rice Festival every April.

Although most of Edisto Island is in Charleston County, the town of Edisto Beach (pop. 691) is in Colleton County.

“The Greatest Beach on the Planet”

The town of Cottageville (pop. 707) has the Bee City Honeybee Farm & Petting Zoo & Nature Center.

Colleton County has an unincorporated community called Round O. It has two churches and a post office.

NEXT: CHARLESTON COUNTY

South Carolina: Hampton County

Apr26

Hampton County (pop. 21,090) is just north of Jasper County. It’s the only Hampton County in the U.S.

The county was named for Wade Hampton III, a Civil War general and later governor of South Carolina and U.S. senator.

In “Gone With the Wind,” Charles Hamilton served in Hampton’s regiment.

The county seat is the city of Hampton (pop. 2,808), the state’s third-smallest county seat.

Hampton County Courthouse

The Palmetto Theater (1925) in Hampton now has a variety of plays, concerts, and other events.

Remodeled in 1993

Lake Warren State Park is about four miles from Hampton.

There’s a 440-acre lake.

The Hampton County Watermelon Festival calls itself South Carolina’s longest-running continuing festival.

It began in 1943.

In Brunson (pop. 554), the old Town Hall, built in 1906, was mentioned in “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!” as “The World’s Only Octagonal Town Hall Built on Stilts.” The stilts were later removed.

A model (with stilts) adjacent to the actual Town Hall

NEXT: COLLETON COUNTY

South Carolina: Jasper County

Apr24

Jasper County (pop. 24,777), the southernmost county in South Carolina, is adjacent to Georgia and just a few miles from Savannah.

It’s one of eight Jasper counties in the U.S., all named for Revolutionary War hero Sgt. William Jasper, a German immigrant and South Carolinian.

He died in the Siege of Savannah in 1779.

The county seat of Jasper County is Ridgeland (pop. 4,036).

Church of the Holy Trinity, Ridgeland (1858)

Jasper County has had the same courthouse since the county was created in 1912.

In the Colonial Revival style

The town of Hardeeville (pop. 2,952), close to the Georgia border, had its population grow by 65% from 2000 to 2010.

LIfe-size elephants outside Papa Joe’s Fireworks

The county’s pre-Civil War churches include the Gillisonville Baptist Church (1838).

Greek Revival style

NEXT: HAMPTON COUNTY

South Carolina: Beaufort County

Apr21

We begin our tour of South Carolina’s 46 counties in fast-growing Beaufort County, near the southern tip of the state.

This is the route we’ll be taking.

In 1980, Beaufort County’s population was just 65,364. In 2010, it was 162,233.

New homes on Hilton Head Island, the county’s largest resort area

The northern and southern parts of Beaufort County are connected only by the 1.7-mile Broad River Bridge on South Carolina Highway 170.

The Broad River is actually a tidal channel.

Beaufort County is composed primarily of islands – part of the Sea Islands along the Atlantic coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Hunting Island, South Carolina’s most popular state park

The county seat of Beaufort County is the city of Beaufort (pop. 12,361), located mainly on Port Royal Island. South Carolina’s Beaufort is pronounced “BYOO-fert.” North Carolina’s Beaufort is pronounced “BOH-fert.”

There’s also a Beaufort County in Western Australia.

Boxer Joe Frazier (1944-2011) grew up in Beaufort.

Heavyweight champion, 1970-73

Beaufort is the home of the Kazoo Museum, located within the Kazoobie Kazoos Factory.

The museum was previously in Seattle.

Beaufort has a strong military presence, with the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and the nearby Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

The 1979 movie was filmed in Beaufort.

Author Pat Conroy based the main character of “The Great Santini” on his father, a Marine pilot; Conroy’s “The Water is Wide” was about his time teaching on Daufuskie Island in the 1960s.

Young Pat Conroy and students

Saint Helena Island has traditionally been a center of African-American Gullah culture, dating from the early days of slavery in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

The uninhabited (by humans) Morgan Island has been the home of a free-ranging colony of rhesus monkeys since 1979.

About 4,000 of them

NEXT: JASPER COUNTY

Every County