Palmetto Theater in Hampton, SC (2017, February 19). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 15:10, July 24, 2017.
Hampton County and its county seat Hampton were named for Confederate general and governor Wade Hampton (1818-1902). The county was formed from Beaufort County in 1878, shortly after Wade Hampton took office as governor. Parts of Hampton County later went to form Jasper (1912) and Allendale (1919) counties. During the Civil War, federal troops occupied the coastal areas of Beaufort County. As a result, many planters fled to the area that became Hampton County. General Sherman's troops passed through the county in 1865, fighting several skirmishes with Confederate troops. This section of the state has remained primarily agricultural. 1922 Olympian Gold Medalist Lucile Ellerbe Godbold (1900-1981) grew up in Hampton County, and Culinary Anthropologist Vertamae Grosvenor was born in Hampton County.
