Colleton

Formed January 1, 1800 (25^th county)

Colleton County (38,604), Walterboro (5,528)                

The white brick courthouse was constructed in 1823 and remodeled in 1939.  Hampton Street and Jefferies Boulevard intersect at the courthouse.  United States Highway 17 Alternate is Jefferies Boulevard.  Robert Mills and William Jay provided the designs.  The building was reconstructed in 1844, enlarged in 1916, and restored in 2007.  It features columns and a balcony.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  The county was founded on January 1, 1800 from Charleston County as the 25^th county.  Jacksonboro was the first county seat until 1817 when Walterboro took over.  The county is named for Lord Propriety John Colleton.  Walterboro is named for settlers Paul and Jacob Walter.  Colleton County is the birthplace for 2 South Carolina Governors, Robert Y. Hayne and Francis W. Pickens. 

Colleton County government consists of a sheriff and 2 Council Members.  Two Circuit Court Judges and Five Family Court Judges serve Colleton, Allendale, Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties.  Colleton County is in the southern part of the state.  Charleston, South Carolina is directly east and Columbia, South Carolina is north of the county.  The county center is 7.4 miles South-Southwest of Walterboro nearer Hendersonville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Orangeburg, Dorchester, and Charleston counties and the Atlantic Ocean and Beaufort, Hampton, Allendale, and Bamberg counties. 

The area of the county is 1133 square miles.  It is 4 out of 46 in the state.  It ranks 26 out of 46 in population in the state.  It has a density of 34.1 persons per square mile making it 40 out of 46 in the state.  Colleton County has 19.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 95 goes north to south in the county from Dorchester County to Hampton County.  United States Highway 15 parallels Interstate Highway 95 from Dorchester to Hampton counties.  United States Highway 17 goes east to west from Charleston County to Beaufort County.  United States Highway 17 Alternate enters from Dorchester County and terminates.  United States Highway 21 comes from the north, Orangeburg County, and goes to the southwest, Hampton County.  Colleton County resembles a funnel with an added arm on the northeast.  Walterboro is located in the northern third of the county.  Walterboro is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 14.3% of the county population.  The county is pronounced KOE-LE-TON.  This county is in the Walterboro Micropolitan Statistical Area.