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Columbians call this complicated intersection of Interstate Highways 26 and 126 with Bush River Road, just north of their city, "Malfunction Junction." Photo by Todd Houston, June 1987. Courtesy of...Lexington
Lexington County lies in the Midlands region of South Carolina. Both the county and its seat were named after the Revolutionary War’s first battle, the battle of Lexington. This name is fitting seeing as a number of Revolutionary War battles were fought in the county.
First known as the Saxe Gotha township in 1733, the area acquired its current name in 1785. However, from 1791 to 1804 the county was added to Orangeburg District before becoming its own county again. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the county became smaller as lands belonging to this county were used to create Aiken and Calhoun counties.
The British were the first Europeans to settle in the area. This group created a trading post, later known as Granby, on the Congaree River. In the 18th century, a large number of Swiss, German, and Scotch-Irish immigrants came to the area and began small farms. Many of these small farms became submerged when Lake Murray was made from the Saluda River. However, the economy’s reliance on agriculture created by these small farms continues today. Various types of manufacturing as well as steel processing have also become popular means of income in the county.
Home. Accessed June 09, 2016. http://www.lex-co.sc.gov
Industry Data. Accessed June 09, 2016. http://www.lexingtoncountyusa.com/workforce/workforce_data/industry_data/
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In 1916, the Broad River flooded between Leeds and Carlisle, making the Seaboard Railroad trestle across the Broad the only passable roadway. Courtesy of the Winthrop University Archives.Photo
Pleasure boaters on Lake Murray form a pontoon boat raft. Photo by Bill Kalis, June 23,1986. Courtesy of "The State" newspaper.Photo
Patrick Henry Corley, Sheriff of Lexington County, poses proudly with his horse on the main street of Lexington around 1910. The purpose of photographs such as this postcard view was usually to show...Photo
Shealy's Barbecue in Leesville. Mrs. Sara Shealy stirs the green beans at lunch time. April 21, 1983, photo by Perry Baker. Courtesy of "The State" newspaper.Photo
The calendar on the wall of this office identifies the year as 1904. Samuel George, seated in the center, operated a number of businesses out of his Lexington County office. Note the old-fashioned...Photo
The South Carolina Electric and Gas Company steam generator plant at Lake Murray, August 25, 1958. The South Carolina Electric and Gas Company had its origins in the creation of the Columbia Gas Light...Photo
"From its first shipment of Carolina products to England in 1670, when seven cedar boards were included, lumbering in many forms has brought dependable wealth to South Carolina. In all its phases...Photo
The Godfrey Harmon House, built in Lexington around 1870 by the founder of the Lexington "Dispatch," burned in 1894. The square columns are an interesting adaptation of a vernacular Greek Revival...Photo
"Granny" Corley and her family are regarded as the founders of Lexington County. Her house, a national style "I" house built in the late 18th century with exterior chimneys, is a good example of...