"S" is for Stateburg

"S" is for Stateburg. The name of this town, located in western Sumter County in the High Hills of the Santee, reflects Stateburg’s raison d’être. A group of speculators headed by Thomas Sumter founded Stateburg in 1783 in hopes that it would be named the new state capital of South Carolina. By the time the General Assembly took up the matter of relocating the capital from Charleston, Stateburg had become a bustling village and seat of the newly established Claremont County. Sumter’s dream never became reality as legislators never seriously considered the town as the new capital. With the creation of Sumter County in 1800, Stateburg lost its status as a county seat and the little town soon stagnated. In 1971, the Stateburg Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.