Berkeley

Formed January 1, 1882 (34^th county)

Berkeley County (229,854), Moncks Corner (13,306), Goose Creek (45,957)

The red/brown brick Federalist Revival courthouse was erected in 1897 on California Drive at Broughton Road.  United States Highway 17 Alternate is three blocks to the southeast of the site.  Andrew J. Bryan provided the facility designs.  The courthouse was enlarged in 1990.  The courthouse features columns and veteran memorials.  A County Administration Building augments the courthouse.  The county was formed on January 1, 1882 from Charleston County as the 34^th county.  Mount Pleasant was the first county seat until 1895 when Moncks Corner assume the role.  Berkeley County is named for Virginia Governor William Berkeley.  The county seat is named for settler Thomas Monck. 

Berkeley County government consists of a director, a sheriff, a treasurer, a coroner, an assessor, and a clerk (executive).  It has 9 Council Members (legislative.)  Two Circuit Court Judges and Six Family Court Judges serve Berkeley and Charleston counties (judicial.)  The county is on the eastern Atlantic Ocean coast.  Charleston, South Carolina is directly southwest and Columbia, South Carolina is northwest of the county.  The county center is 6.3 miles South of Moncks Corner.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Georgetown and Williamsburg counties and the Atlantic Ocean and Charleston, Dorchester, Orangeburg, and Colleton counties. 

The area of the county is 1234 square miles.  It is 3 out of 46 in the state.  It ranks 8 out of 46 in population in the state.  It has a density of 186.3 persons per square mile making it 12 out of 46 in the state.  Berkeley County has 44.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 17 Alternate enters the county from the northeast, Georgetown County, and exits south into Dorchester County.  United States Highway 52 goes north to south from Williamsburg County to Charleston County.  United States Highway 176 comes from Orangeburg County, northwest, and terminates.  The county shape resembles a Roman gladiator’s helmet.  Moncks Corner is located in the western third of the county.  Goose Creek is near the southwest border of the county.  Moncks Corner is the county seat and Goose Creek is the largest city.  Moncks Corner is 5.8% of the county population while Goose Creek is 20.0% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced MONKS KOER-NER.  This county is in the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area.