“G” is for Georgetown (Georgetown County; 2020 population 8,664). Located at the confluence of the Sampit River and Winyah bay, Georgetown was founded in 1729 and is the third oldest town in South Carolina. The town was incorporated in 1805. For much of its history, Georgetown’s economy was linked to its being a port. For a century, rice was the major export from the area, but was replaced in the 1850s by lumber and turpentine. In 1935 International Paper began building the largest pulp and paper plant in the world on the Sampit River, infusing jobs and capital into the economy. In the final decades of the twentieth century, the city undertook a downtown revitalization project—creating Harborwalk with four parks and streetscape improvements in the business district. A continued influx of people was reflected in the restoration of colonial and antebellum residences in the Georgetown Historic District
“G” is for Georgetown
