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“D” is for Dorchester County

“D” is for Dorchester County (575 square miles; 2020 population 165,737). The lowcountry country of Dorchester was established by the General Assembly in 1897 with territory carved from sections of Colleton and Berkeley Counties. The county seat, St. George, is in the northwestern part of the county, while the largest town, Summerville, and the majority of the county’s population are located in the southeastern end. Although Dorchester is among the youngest South Carolina counties, it has a long history. The county takes its name from a colonial town founded in 1696 on the northern bank of the Ashley River. The county is home to the Francis Beidler National Forest, one of the few remaining virgin tupelo swamps in the world.The modern history of Dorchester County is closely tied to the urbanization of Charleston and North Charleston.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.