“S” is for Spartanburg County

“S” is for Spartanburg County (811 square miles; 2020 population 328,000). Spartanburg County is located in the northwestern section of South Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The signing of a treaty with the Cherokees in 1755 made land grants available to British settlers. During the Revolutionary War fighting in the area resembled a civil war between Patriots and Loyalists. In 1785 Spartanburg was one of six counties established in the South Carolina interior by the General Assembly. In the latter part of the nineteenth century textile mills were built throughout the county, making Spartanburg an important textile center in the state and the nation. Peaches have replaced cotton as the county’s major cash crop.  In the years after World War II, Spartanburg County became internationally renowned for its successful recruitment of foreign industry.