“C” is for Chesterfield County

“C” is for Chesterfield County (799 square miles; 2020 population 45,606). Chesterfield County was established in 1785 when the legislature divided the Cheraws Judicial District into three counties. The origin of the name might have been Chesterfield County, Virginia, from which many early settlers came. The earliest settlement was at Cheraw Hill at the head of the navigation for the Great Pee Dee River. Pine barrens and sand hills constituted a large portion of the county’s area, and neither was conducive to large scale agriculture. During the Civil War sections of Chesterfield and Cheraw were destroyed. At one time one of the poorest counties in the state, Chesterfield made great economic and educational strides in the twentieth century. By 2000 the county had a mix of industry, agriculture, and mining operations while maintaining a pleasant rural landscape.