Chester
county, South Carolina
Chester, county, northern South Carolina, U.S. It is situated between the Broad and Catawba rivers in a hilly piedmont region of pine and hardwood forests. Chester and Landsford Canal state parks lie within its borders, as does part of Sumter National Forest.
In the colonial era the region was part of the wild boundary zone between the lands of the Catawba Indians and their enemies, the Cherokee. The county was established in 1785 and was named for Chester county, Pennsylvania, from which many of the county’s original settlers came.
Logging and the manufacture of wood products are mainstays of the economy, and the manufacture of clothing and textile products also is important. County farms produce wheat, cattle, poultry, and dairy products. The town of Chester is the county seat. Area 581 square miles (1,504 square km). Pop. (2000) 34,112; (2010) 33,140.
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