Chesterfield

Formed January 1, 1785 (7^th county)

Chesterfield County (43,270), Chesterfield (1,354), Cheraw (5,022)

The Modern brown brick building was built in 1977.  The courthouse is on Main Street between Page and Mangum streets.  Main Street is South Carolina State Highway 9 Business.  Witherspoon, Patterson and Knowland provided the designs.  The building was enlarged in 2007.  There was an 1884 earlier version of the courthouse in Chesterfield, the only county seat.  Chesterfield County was organized on January 1, 1785 as the 7^th county.  The county and its county seat were named for the Earl of Chesterfield. 

Chesterfield County government consists of a sheriff and 9 Council Members.  Two Circuit Court Judges and Four Family Court Judges serve Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, and Marlboro counties.  The county is on the northeast border with North Carolina.  Columbia, South Carolina is southwest and Greenville, South Carolina is northwest of the county.  The county center is 5.3 miles Southwest of Chesterfield.  The county is surrounded clockwise by North Carolina and Marlboro, Darlington, Lee, Kershaw, and Lancaster counties. 

The area of the county is 806 square miles.  It is 11 out of 46 in the state.  It ranks 25 out of 46 in population in the state.  It has a density of 53.7 persons per square mile making it 30 out of 46 in the state.  Chesterfield County has 25.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 1 passes through the county from northeast to southwest from Marlboro County to Kershaw County.  United States Highway 52 enters from the north, North Carolina, and exits to the south, Darlington County.  United States Highway 601 cuts the northwest corner from North Carolina to Lancaster County, west.  The county is an overall diamond shape.  The City of Chesterfield is located in the northeast quarter of the county.  Cheraw is located on the northeast border of the county.  Chesterfield is the county seat and Cheraw is the largest city.  Chesterfield is 3.1% of the county population while Cheraw is 11.6% of the county population.  The largest city is pronounced SHE-RA.