1. History
    European colonization and later history 

2. Geography
     Adjacent counties  

3. Demographics
    2000 census  2010 census 

4. Politics

5. Transportation
     Airports  

6. Communities
    Cities  Towns  Census-designated places 

7. See also

8. References

9. External links

 county  = Marlboro County | state = South Carolina | seal = Marlboro County sc seal.png | founded = 1785 | seat wl = Bennettsville | largest city wl = Bennettsville | area_total_sq_mi = 485 | area_land_sq_mi = 480 | area_water_sq_mi = 5.6 | area percentage = 1.2% | census estimate yr = 2016 | pop = 26945 | density_sq_mi = 60 | web = www.marlborocounty.sc.gov |

Marlboro County is a county located in the Pee Dee region on the northern border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2016 census its population was 26,945.^[1] Its county seat is Bennettsville.^[2] The Great Pee Dee River runs through it. Marlboro County comprises the Bennettsville, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Marlboro County is home to the Pee Dee Indian Tribe. They are a relatively small American Indian tribe that has occupied the Pee Dee region for several centuries. The tribe was officially recognized by the Government of South Carolina around the beginning of the 21st Century, they have been seeking federal acknowledgment since 1976. While today the tribe consists of just over 200 enrolled members, they were once a significant cultural and political power in the region. Their profound influence and continual presence in the area is why the region bears the Pee Dee name. Since 1976, the tribe’s official seat of government has operated on land awarded to the tribe in Marlboro County.^[1]

History

Succeeding indigenous peoples occupied this area for thousands of years. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area were the Pee Dee. Though nearly wiped out by European settlers, the Pee Dee Indian Tribe was able to survive centuries of war, disease, slavery and oppression, and has continued to maintain a presence in the area.^[1]

In the 1960s and early 1970s, researchers identified numerous sites in South Carolina and the Southeast that they associated with what they have classified as South Appalachian Mississippian culture. It developed later, about 1000 CE, later than did some of the largest settlements to the northwest that were closer to the Mississippi River and its tributaries.^[2]

European colonization and later history

The first European colonists to arrive in the area were Welsh settlers, part of the British Isles colonists who migrated south from Pennsylvania. In 1737, they established the first European-American settlement, called Welsh Neck.^[6] These settlers organized a Baptist church in January 1738.^[7]

The South Carolina Welsh settlement consisted of 173,000 acres granted exclusively to Welsh settlers in 1737 by an act of the South Carolina Assembly. Within a decade, nearly all of this land had been taken and settled in by Welsh immigrants, the majority of whom were Baptists. They immigrated to what is now Marlboro County, South Carolina from existing Welsh settlements in Delaware and Pennsylvani as well as directly from Wales. The European settlement along the Peedee River was exclusively Welsh between the 1730s and the 1780s.^[8]

On 12 March 1785, Marlboro County was established by state law of the new United States. It was named for the Duke of Marlborough.^[9] The first courthouse was built near the Great Pee Dee River, just north of Crooked Creek, in a village called Carlisle, named for Richard Carlisle.

In order to have a more central location for the county court, the state legislature designated Bennettsville founded in 1819, as the new county seat. A courthouse was built according to a design by Robert Mills. Construction began in 1820 and was completed in 1824.^[6] It was replaced in the later 19th century. The second courthouse was expanded and renovated in 1953-1954.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|485|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|480|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|5.6|sqmi}} (1.2%) is water.^[10]

Adjacent counties

• Richmond County, North Carolina - north
• Scotland County, North Carolina - northeast
• Robeson County, North Carolina - east
• Dillon County - east
• Florence County - south
• Darlington County - southwest
• Chesterfield County - west
• Anson County, North Carolina - northwest

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census^[16] of 2000, there were 28,818 people, 10,478 households, and 7,334 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile (23/km²). There were 11,894 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 50.73% Black or African American, 44.49% White, 3.36% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 0.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,478 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.60% were married couples living together, 22.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,598, and the median income for a family was $32,019. Males had a median income of $25,896 versus $20,590 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,385. About 17.70% of families and 21.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.20% of those under age 18 and 22.70% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 28,933 people, 10,383 households, and 6,903 families residing in the county.^[17] The population density was {{convert|60.3|PD/sqmi}}. There were 12,072 housing units at an average density of {{convert|25.2|/sqmi}}.^[18] The racial makeup of the county was 50.9% black or African American, 41.4% white, 4.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population.^[17] In terms of ancestry, and 9.7% were American.^[19]

Of the 10,383 households, 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples living together, 24.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 38.8 years.^[17]

The median income for a household in the county was $27,688 and the median income for a family was $32,485. Males had a median income of $31,170 versus $24,885 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,817. About 23.3% of families and 27.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.4% of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over.^[20]

Politics

After Democrats regained power in the state in the late nineteenth century, the legislature passed a new constitution that raised barriers to voter registration, effectively disfranchising black voters; at the time blacks comprised a majority of the population in the state and mostly supported Republican candidates. The state legislature also imposed legal racial segregation and laws for Jim Crow and white supremacy. This situation of disfranchisement lasted largely into the 1960s, until after Congress passed the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, to give the government oversight and power to enforce constitutional rights for all citizens. As part of the Solid South, the whites of the county and state used to vote overwhelmingly Democratic, giving 100% of its vote to the party in 1924.^[21] White South Carolina residents (and throughout the South) had outsize power in Congress, as they controlled seats apportioned on the basis of total population of the state, while disfranchising the blacks.

Since the late 20th century, the county has voted mostly Democratic, but the demographics of political alignments have changed markedly since the 19th century. African Americans have mostly left the Republican Party to support the national Democratic Party. Conservative whites have shifted to the Republican Party. In the 1972 election, Republican Richard Nixon won every county in the state including Marlboro.^[22] In state and local voting, many whites have voted for Republican candidates, and African Americans have tended to continue to support the Democrats.

More recently the county went strongly for Barack Obama, who received 62.4% of the vote in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. The Democratic presidential candidates have received more than 58% of the county vote in all elections from 1992 to 2004.^[23]

Transportation

Airports

• Marlboro County Jetport
• Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) 76.8 Miles South - South - East of Bennettsville
• Charlotte International Airport (CLT) 81.3 Miles West - North - West of Bennettsville
• Clio Crop Care Airport (9W9)

Communities

Cities

• Bennettsville (county seat)

Towns

• Blenheim
• Clio
• McColl
• Tatum

Census-designated places

• Wallace

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Marlboro County, South Carolina

References

External links

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=khUTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=history+old+cheraws+gregg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=89iPUY7hKbSp0AGG84CwDA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA 1905 Reprint of Bishop Gregg's History of the Old Cheraws] with additional material as an appendix. (Google Book pdf)

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