Sumter County was first settled by Englishmen from Virginia and the South Carolina Lowcountry in the mid-18th century. In 1800, Sumter District was founded from lands previously belonging to Claremont, Salem, and Clarendon counties. However, over the 19th and 20th centuries, the district became smaller when Clarendon County left the district, and some of the district’s land was used to create Lee County.
The Civil War had a substantial impact on Sumter County. Union troops invaded the county, and a small battle was also fought in the area. Additionally, the area is known as the home of educator Mary Mcleod Bethune and opera singer Clara Louise Kellogg.
Historically, Sumter County served as an important agricultural area. However, the economy shifted away from agriculture over time. Today, the economy relies mainly on the service providing and manufacturing industries. The county and its seat are named in honor of Revolutionary War general Thomas Sumter.
Workforce Breakdown of Economic Sectors. Accessed June 10, 2016. http://www.sumteredge.com/index.php/economic_sectors
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Paratroop transport planes are lined up at Shaw Field, near Sumter, around 1940. Courtesy of the Sumter County Museum Archives.
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The interior of Raffield's Beauty Salon in Sumter was also the home of the Sumter Beauty School around 1940. Photo by Lecoq Studios. Courtesy of the Sumter County Museum Archives.
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The interior of the Coca Cola Bottling Company of Sumter in the 1930s. Photograph from the Lecoq Studios. Courtesy of the Sumter County Museum Archives.
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The Sumter Telephone Company was established in the town of Sumter in 1896 by C.T. Mason, and by 1900 it boasted in its advertising that it was "one of the largest and best equipped factories in the...
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The Winburn Photo Studio, located on South Main Street in Sumter around 1900, illustrates the importance of this form of business in many South Carolina communities. The Studio advertises "Photographs...
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The Cornwallis House, Stateburg. The recessed portico and Palladian influence of the central part of this home mark this as Georgian. The oldest part of this house was built in 1758; the wings added...
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High Hills Baptist Church in Stateburg, in Sumter County, is the second oldest Baptist congregation in the state. Organized in 1770, its first pastor was Richard Furman, one of the founders of the...
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The steeple on the building in the right of this photograph, on Hampton Street in Sumter, is that of the Jewish synagogue, next door to the Rabbi's house. There were Spanish and Portuguese Jews in...
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Health care required the training of medical personnel. A number of hospitals in South Carolina offered programs in nursing training early in the 20th century, mostly in an apprenticeship system of...
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The Palmetto Pigeon Plant in Sumter, photographed November 28, 1932. Courtesy of the Sumter County Museum Archives.