Kershaw County, South Carolina

Kershaw County is a county in South Carolina, United States, part of the Columbia metropolitan area. It had a population of 65,403 at the 2020 census and covers 727 square miles (1,882 km2) of land plus 14 square miles (35 km2) of water, centred near 34°20′N 80°35′W.

Camden is the county seat, and its postal code is 29020. The county has 1 city, 2 towns, and several unincorporated communities and census-designated places — no civil townships, since South Carolina does not use them. Kershaw County sits in the Eastern time zone.

Towns & Villages in Kershaw County

Kershaw County has three incorporated municipalities — Camden, Bethune, and Elgin — plus a scatter of unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs) that carry no municipal government of their own. The table below lists the county’s principal named places; CDP status is marked separately from unincorporated crossroads communities.

Camden is both the county seat and its only city; Bethune and Elgin are the county’s two incorporated towns. Everything else on the list, from Lugoff to Abney Crossroads, is an unincorporated community with no town government — some, like Lugoff and East Camden, are Census Bureau CDPs used for population statistics, while smaller ones such as Boykin and Antioch are historic crossroads and mill-village names carried on maps and rural postal routes rather than legal places.

ZIP Codes

• 29020 — Camden (also serves East Camden and Boykin)
• 29021 — Camden (PO Box only)
• 29078 — Lugoff
• 29045 — Elgin
• 29032 — Cassatt
• 29009 — Bethune
• 29175 — Westville
• 29074 — Liberty Hill (PO Box only)

Small crossroads communities such as Antioch, Buffalo, DeKalb, Mount Pisgah, and Abney Crossroads have no ZIP code of their own and share the delivery area of the nearest post-office town.

Geography

Kershaw County lies in the Sandhills and upper Coastal Plain of central South Carolina, ranging from sandy, pine-covered ridges in the west to the flatter, farmed lowlands along the Wateree River in the east. The Wateree forms much of the county’s eastern boundary and feeds Lake Wateree, the reservoir the county shares with two of its neighbors. Sand and clay soils around Cassatt and Westville support the Sand Hills State Forest, and pine plantations cover a large share of the rural county.

Kershaw County borders Lancaster County to the north, Chesterfield County to the northeast, Darlington County to the east, Lee County and Sumter County to the southeast, Richland County to the southwest, and Fairfield County to the west. Chesterfield County has no page on this site.

Demographics

Kershaw County had 65,403 residents at the 2020 census. Camden, the seat, is the county’s largest municipality; Lugoff is its largest unincorporated community. South Carolina’s median household income was $67,804 as of the 2023 American Community Survey; Kershaw County, a mostly rural county anchored by one small city, typically runs below that state figure. Spread across 727 square miles of land, the county’s overall population density works out to roughly 90 people per square mile.

Economy & Local Life

Kershaw County’s economy combines manufacturing, retail, and agriculture. The county’s gross domestic product was about $2.7 billion in 2022. Major employers include Hengst Automotive Filtration, Food Lion’s regional distribution operations, Target, Lowe’s, and Walmart, alongside farms growing cotton, soybeans, and timber in the rural east of the county. Camden’s historic downtown, built around the horse industry, anchors the county’s tourism trade.

Camden is a longtime center of equestrian sport, hosting the Carolina Cup steeplechase every spring since 1930 (excepting wartime and 2020), a race that draws tens of thousands of visitors. The town also hosts Irish Fest Camden each March and Revolutionary War Field Days each November, both drawing several thousand visitors to the county seat.

History

Kershaw County was created in 1791 from parts of Claremont, Lancaster, Fairfield, and Richland counties. It is named for Col. Joseph Kershaw (1727–1791), an early settler and Revolutionary War patriot regarded as the founder of Camden. Camden itself, founded decades earlier as a colonial backcountry trading post, is one of South Carolina’s oldest inland towns and was the site of a major British victory over Continental forces in the 1780 Battle of Camden during the Revolutionary War.

Getting There

• Columbia, South Carolina — 30 miles southwest
• Sumter, South Carolina — 30 miles southeast
• Rock Hill, South Carolina — 45 miles north
• Florence, South Carolina — 55 miles east

U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 601, and U.S. Route 521 cross the county, along with Interstate 20, which runs through the southern part near Lugoff. The nearest commercial airport is Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), about 35 miles southwest of Camden.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Kershaw County, South Carolina?
It is in central South Carolina, part of the Columbia metropolitan area, roughly 30 miles northeast of downtown Columbia.

What is the population of Kershaw County?
65,403 people, per the 2020 census.

How big is Kershaw County?
727 square miles of land (1,882 km2), plus 14 square miles of water.

What is the county seat of Kershaw County?
Camden is the county seat and the county’s only city.

How many towns are in Kershaw County?
Three incorporated municipalities — Camden, Bethune, and Elgin — plus several unincorporated communities and CDPs.

What ZIP codes are in Kershaw County?
29009, 29020, 29021, 29032, 29045, 29074, 29078, and 29175.

What is Kershaw County known for?
Camden’s Carolina Cup steeplechase, one of the largest spring social and sporting events in South Carolina, held every year since 1930 apart from wartime years and 2020.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in South Carolina.