Pendleton District, named after US Judge Henry Pendleton, is a former judicial district in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. It existed as a county or a district from 7 March 1789 to 20 December 1826. In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided into parishes corresponding to the parishes of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. There were also several counties that had judicial and electoral functions. As people settled the backcountry, judicial districts and additional counties were formed. This structure continued and grew after the Revolutionary War. In 1800, all counties were renamed as districts. In 1868, the districts were converted back to counties. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has maps that show the boundaries of counties, districts, and parishes starting in 1682. Pendleton County was created on 7 March 1789 in the former Indian lands. It included the current Anderson and Pickens counties and all but about along the

Chattooga River The Chattooga River (also spelled Chatooga, Chatuga, and Chautaga, variant name Guinekelokee River) is the main tributary of the Tugaloo River. Water course The headwaters of the Chattooga River are located southwest of Cashiers, North Car ...

of Oconee County. The land along the Chattooga belonged the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

and

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: * Creek people, a former name of Muscogee, Native Americans * C ...

peoples. Pendleton County was attached to

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

. On 19 February 1791, Pendleton County became part of the new

Washington District The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria and Lynchburg. Most of the line was built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, while a small portion in th ...

, which also included most of

Greenville County Greenville County ( ; locally ) is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to t ...

. On 1 January 1800, Washington District was disbanded. Pendleton County and Greenville County were renamed as districts. On 19 December 1816, Pendleton District gained the Indian lands along the Chattooga. Finally, on 20 December 1826, the Pendleton District was abolished and replaced by Anderson and Pickens Districts. Pickens District incorporated both the current Pickens and Oconee Counties. The court house and jail for Pendleton District were in

Pendleton, South Carolina Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,489 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The town is located southeast of Cl ...

. At the time of the dissolution of the district, its second court house was under construction. This was completed by the Pendleton Farmers' Society. It is still standing in on the Pendleton Square and is part of the Pendleton Historic District.Simpson, R. W., ''History of Old Pendleton District'', Oulla Printing and Binding Co., Anderson, South Carolina, 1913.

References

External links

Animap showing historic South Carolina county boundaries. For Pendleton District, start in 1789.
{{coord, 34.59, -82.77, display=title Former counties, districts, and parishes of South Carolina Anderson County, South Carolina Oconee County, South Carolina Pickens County, South Carolina