Darlington Downtown Historic District (9 November 2018). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 15:23 May 26, 2021.
The origin of the name of Darlington County is uncertain, but it may have been named for Darlington, England. The county was formed in 1785, with the county seat at Darlington, and until 1800 it was a part of the Cheraw District. Parts of Darlington County were removed to form Florence County in 1888 and Lee County in 1902. This area was settled in the mid-eighteenth century by Welsh, Scotch-Irish, and English farmers, who grew cotton primarily. In more recent years, the county has been best known for the stock car races which take place at the Darlington Raceway. David Rogerson Williams (1776-1830), the governor and the scientific experimenter was a native of Darlington; he is remembered for introducing the mule to Southern agriculture. Other prominent Darlington residents were industrialists James Lide Coker (1837-1918) and David R. Coker (1870-1938) and novelists Annie Greene Nelson (1902-1993) and Elizabeth Boatwright Coker (1909-1993).
