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Berkeley County is located in the southeastern part of South Carolina and is part of the Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area, also comprised of Charleston and Dorchester counties. Today, Berkeley County, SC is a fast-growing center for business and commerce in South Carolina. Berkeley County is rich in the natural resources which many businesses and industry seek when selecting a location for plant facilities, retail centers, or operational headquarters. Our natural resources also attract many new residents to our county. Berkeley County's Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie are world-famous for fishing. Our proximity to the Atlantic coastline makes for only a short drive for beach-lovers to enjoy the ocean. Berkeley County's abundance of forests and rice fields creates a heaven for outdoor sportsmen of all kinds. And of course, our mild climate year-round also makes Berkeley County a highly desirable place to live Moncks Corner serves as the county seat and is located approximately 30 miles north of the region's largest city, Charleston. Berkeley County was established in 1682 as one of the three original land grants to the Lord'sProprietors in Carolina. Long known as a "sportman's paradise" because of its great fishing and hunting, Berkeley County has become a leader in economic development with extensive industrial growth over the past few years For Berkeley County, 1995 was a record breaking year. Bringing in over $1 billion in capital investment, the County set a new record within South Carolina for industrial capital investment. While agriculture and forest products remain important, the manufacturing sector has become one of the county's fastest growing employment sectors. Companies such as Amoco, Bayer, Nucor, and Quoizel are among the more than 75 manufacturing facilities operating in Berkeley County today. Berkeley County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state. With a 1990 population of 128,776, the current population is estimated at nearly 140,000 and is expected to have an annual growth rate of more than 5% over the next 20 years, reaching 252,800 by 2010. Berkeley County cities and communities include:
Back to Berkeley County Facts Index One of the three original counties in South Carolina, Berkeley County's history goes back well over 300 years and is rich and diverse. Berkeley County was named for two of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, Lord John Berkeley (d. 1678) and Sir William Berkeley (d. 1677). The county was originally named in 1682, and at one time it included the parishes of St. John Berkeley, St. James Goose Creek, St. James Santee, St. Stephen, and St. Thomas and St. Denis. In 1769 this area became part of the Charleston District, and it did not become a separate county again until 1882. The county seat was Mount Pleasant from 1882 until 1895, when it was moved to Moncks Corner. This area was settled in the late seventeenth century by English and French Huguenot planters and their African slaves. Many of the old rice plantations are now covered by the waters of Lake Moultrie, which was built in the 1940s as part of the Santee Cooper hydroelectric project. Two famous Revolutionary War generals were residents of the area: William Moultrie (1730-1805) and Francis Marion (1732-1795), known as the Swamp Fox. Henry Laurens (1724-1792), president of the Continental Congress, resided at Mepkin Plantation, which many years later was purchased by publisher Henry Luce (1898-1967). Luce and his wife, writer and diplomat Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987), are buried at Mepkin, which is now a Trappist monastery.
Popular attractions which demonstrate a sample of the county's history include the Back to Berkeley County Facts Index
Back to Berkeley County Facts Index
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