“S” is for Sumter (Sumter County; 2020 population 43,463). When the South Carolina legislature created Sumter District in 1800, they also established the crossroads village of Sumterville as the courthouse seat. Named after the area's most prominent resident (the Revolutionary War general and United States senator Thomas Sumter) Sumterville’s growth was painfully slow during its early years.The town was incorporated in 1845 and following the arrival of the railroad in 1855, town leaders shortened the name to Sumter. In 1912 the city became the first in the country to use the council manager form of municipal government, which consisted of four elected officials (a mayor and three councilors) and a professional city manager chosen by the council. Today Sumter retains the same governing model, but the council has now been enlarged to six members elected from individual wards.
“S” is for Sumter
