“E” is for Edgefield (Edgefield County; 2020 population 4,848). Edgefield was founded as the Edgefield County seat in 1791 because of its central geographic location. Alternately referred to as Edgefield Court House, Edgefield Village, and Edgefield, the town was incorporated in 1830. Prior to1860, the town was the social and political center of the district and the home of some of the most accomplished attorneys in the state. However, despite its prominence in politics and wealth, Edgefield never developed as a commercial center. In the 1890s the opening of textile and oil mills provided a base for the local economy for fifty years. With their closing, Edgefield went through some difficult times. Beginning in the 1990s the town worked to expand tourism and was named a discovery center location in the South Carolina Heritage Corridor.