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“C” is for Cherokee County

“C” is for Cherokee County (393 square miles; 2020 population 56,216). Cherokee County is named for the Cherokee Indians. Who prior to the American Revolution used the area as one of their principal campgrounds. Created in 1897, the county was carved out of Spartanburg, Union, and York Counties. Gaffney is the county seat. At the turn of the twentieth century, the textile industry dominated the northern portion of the county, while traditional agriculture prevailed in the southern portion. By the 1920s, however, peach and apple orchards replaced cotton fields. The impact of the Great Depression and its aftermath was softened somewhat by the peach. Symbolic of the importance of this valuable fruit is the giant peach water tower near Interstate 85. Cherokee County is home to two of the country’s most important Revolutionary War battlefields: Kings Mountain and Cowpens.

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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.