Follow
Please add profiles for those who were born, lived or died in Orangeburg County, South Carolina.
Official Website
The county was created in 1769 and named for William III of England. At the time of European encounter, Siouan-speaking tribes, such as the Pee Dee, Cheraw and Catawba, inhabited the Piedmont area above the fall line.
The Beaver Creek Indians, the Pee Dee Indian Nation of Beaver Creek, and the Pine Hill Indian Tribe are three state-recognized Native American entities located in Orangeburg County.
The Beaver Creek Indians are descendants of around thirty mixed-blood tribes that merged as a result of colonization. Most tribal members descend from Lazarus Chavis. Their tribal office is located in the town of Salley. [15]
The Pee Dee Indian Nation of Beaver Creek descends from the Pee Dee Indian families who came to Orangeburg County with Chief Lewis Jones. Members of this tribe also descend from the Pee Dee riflemen who fought in the Raccoon Company during the Revolutionary War. The Pee Dee Indians who came to this area started Rocky Swamp Indian Methodist Church. Many of their ancestors, along with the Beaver Creek tribe, were sent to the Four Pine School for Indians. The Pee Dee Indian Nation of Beaver Creek maintains a close relationship with their relatives in the Upstate bands and they jointly strive to preserve their culture and heritage.
The Pine Hill Indian Tribe resettled into the Pine Hill area of Orangeburg County after forced removal by the United States Government from their original land at the Congaree-Wateree River Basin in Richland County, identified in pre-colonial records as the center of Cofitachequi. Removal allowed the creation of Camp Jackson. Camp Jackson was deregulated and then reinstated as the military reservation now known as Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The Pine Hill Indian Tribe is acknowledged by the United States Government, recognized by the State of South Carolina, and is associated to the Treaty of New Echota signed by its ancestor John Fields.
Adjacent Counties
- Calhoun County
- Clarendon County
- Berkeley County
- Dorchester County
- Bamberg County
- Colleton County
- Barnwell County
- Aiken County
- Lexington County
Cities, Towns & Communities
- Bowman
- Branchville
- Brookdale
- Cope
- Cordova
- Edisto
- Elloree
- Eutawville
- Holly Hill
- Livingston
- Neeses
- North
- Norway
- Orangeburg (County Seat)
- Rowesville
- Santee
- Springfield
- Vance
- Wilkinson Heights
- Woodford
Cemeteries
Links
National Register of Historic Places
Slaveholders of Orangeburg County
Slaveholders & Surname Matches - 1860 & 1870 census
Orangeburg German-Swiss Genealogical Society
Orangeburg County Historical Society