Laurens

Formed January 1, 1785 (12^th county)

Laurens County (66,537), Laurens (9,139)

The white brick Greek Revival courthouse is located on Main Street at Public Square.  United States Highway 76 is Main Street in this part of the town.   It was built in 1836 and enlarged in 1857 and 1911.  John Wells Simpson is the designer.  It features columns and veteran memorials on the grounds.  A Justice Center has been added recently.   The county was created on January 1, 1785 as the 12^th county with Laurens as the only county seat.  The county and its county seat are named for Revolutionary War hero Henry Laurens.  Laurens County is the birthplace for 2 South Carolina Governors, William D. Simpson and Robert A. Cooper. 

Laurens County government consists of a sheriff and 7 Council Members.  Three Circuit Court Judges and Two Family Court Judges serve Laurens, Abbeville, Greenwood, and Newberry counties.  The county is in northwest South Carolina.  Greenville, South Carolina is directly northwest and Columbia, South Carolina is southeast of the county.  The county center is in Laurens 1.1 Southeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Spartanburg, Union, Newberry, Greenwood, Abbeville, Anderson, and Greenville counties. 

The area of the county is 724 square miles.  It is 18 out of 46 in the state.  It ranks 21 out of 46 in population in the state.  It has a density of 91.90 persons per square mile making it 21 out of 46 in the state.  Laurens County has 31.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 26 crosses north to south in the county from Spartanburg County to Newberry County.  Interstate Highway 385 enters from Greenville County, northwest, and terminates.  United States Highway 25 clips the western tip from Greenville County to Greenwood County.  Laurens County looks like a diamond.  The City of Laurens is located in the western third of the county.  Laurens is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 13.7% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced LA-RENZ.  This county is in the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Fountain Inn