Clarendon County, South Carolina

Clarendon County
County
Clarendon County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of South Carolina
South Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°40′N 80°13′W / 33.66°N 80.22°W / 33.66; -80.22
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
Founded	1785
Named for	Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Seat	Manning
Largest community	Manning
Area
• Total	695.67 sq mi (1,801.8 km2)
• Land	607.21 sq mi (1,572.7 km2)
• Water	88.46 sq mi (229.1 km2)  12.72%
Population  (2020)
• Total	31,144
• Estimate  (2023)	31,004
• Density	51.29/sq mi (19.80/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	6th
Website	www.clarendoncountygov.org

Clarendon County is a county located below the fall line in the Coastal Plain region of U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,144.^[1] Its county seat is Manning.^[2]

This area was developed for lumber and mills, including textile mills. Clarendon County boasts one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States, Lake Marion, completed in 1941 as a New Deal project. It was planned as part of a national rural electrification initiative. Since the late 20th century, the dam's generation of hydroelectric power has also stimulated economic development and industry in the region.

The South Carolina state legislature established racial segregation of public facilities by state law in the late 19th century. During the Civil Rights Movement, Clarendon County was the site of the Briggs v. Elliott trial challenging segregation of public schools. This case was one of five combined with what came to be known as Brown v. Board of Education, under which the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.