Chester

Formed January 1, 1785 (6^th county)

Chester County (32,294), Chester (5,278)                

The red brick County Building augments the 1853 grey brick Greek Revival courthouse.  The courthouse is on Main Street at Pine Street.  South Carolina State Highway 72 is Main Street.  Edward Brickell White provided the courthouse designs.  The building was enlarged in 1896, 1928, and 1994 and renovated in 1974.  The courthouse features columns.  Veteran memorials, a canon, and an eagle sit on the grounds.  The county was created on January 1, 1785 as the 6^th county with Chester as the only county seat.  The county and its county seat were named for Chester, Pennsylvania. 

Chester County government consists of a sheriff and 7 Council Members.  Two Circuit Court Judges and Two Family Court Judges serve Chester, Fairfield, and Lancaster counties.  The county is in northern South Carolina.  Columbia, South Carolina is southeast and Greenville, South Carolina is northwest of the county.  The county center is 6.3 miles East-Southeast of Chester.  The county is surrounded clockwise by York, Lancaster, Fairfield, and Union counties. 

The area of the county is 586 square miles.  It is 26 out of 46 in the state.  It ranks 28 out of 46 in population in the state.  It has a density of 55.1 persons per square mile making it 28 out of 46 in the state.  Chester County has 26.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 77 crosses the county north to south from York County to Fairfield County.  United States Highway 21 parallels Interstate Highway 77 from York to Fairfield counties.  United States Highway 321 enters from York County, north, and exits into Fairfield County, south.  Chester County is nearly a rectangle.  The City of Chester is located in the western third of the county.  Chester is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 16.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Chester Micropolitan Statistical Area.