Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 203,718. Named for Revolutionary War leader Robert Anderson, the county is located in northwestern South Carolina, along the state line of Georgia. The county is included in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC metropolitan statistical area. Anderson County contains Lake Hartwell, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake with nearly of shoreline for residential and recreational use. The area is a growing industrial, commercial, and tourist center. It is the home of Anderson University, a private, selective comprehensive university with about 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
History
Anderson County was founded in 1826 after the dissolution of the Pendleton District and was named after Robert Anderson, an American Revolutionary War general. During the Civil War, the county became a center of ammunitions production for the Confederate States Army. The county seat and largest city is Anderson; both the county and city are also located in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metropolitan statistical area.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (5.55%) are covered by water. Anderson County is in the Savannah River basin and the Saluda River basin.
State and local protected areas
- Broyles Recreation Area
- Fant's Grove Wildlife Management Area
- Sadlers Creek State Park
Major water bodies
- Chattooga River
- Lake Hartwell
- Saluda River
- Savannah River
- Lake Secession
Adjacent counties
- Pickens County – north
- Greenville County – northeast
- Laurens County – east
- Abbeville County – south
- Elbert County, Georgia – southwest
- Hart County, Georgia – west
- Oconee County – northwest
Major highways
Major infrastructure
- Anderson Regional Airport