In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided into parishes corresponding to the parishes of the
Church of England. There were also several counties that had judicial and electoral functions. As people settled the backcountry, judicial districts and additional counties were organized. This structure continued and grew after the
Revolutionary War. In 1798, all counties were re-identified as "elective districts" to be effective on January 1, 1800. In 1868, the districts were converted back to counties. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has maps that show the boundaries of counties, districts, and parishes starting in 1682. Ninety-Six District was created on July 29, 1769, as the most western of the seven original districts within the
Province of South Carolina. Its boundaries included the current
Abbeville,
McCormick,
Edgefield,
Saluda,
Greenwood,
Laurens,
Union, and
Spartanburg counties; much of
Cherokee and
Newberry counties; and small parts of
Aiken and
Greenville counties. The lands further west and on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains were still
Cherokee homelands, which the British Crown had tried to protect from colonial encroachment by the
Royal Proclamation of 1763. They continued to allow traders or travelers in the area. The westward expansion of the borders of the
Province of North Carolina and the
Colony of Virginia (then including present-day Kentucky) were confirmed by the 1770
Treaty of Lochaber with the Cherokee. Some 1000 Cherokee were hosted by Alexander Cameron at Lochabar Plantation in the Ninety-Six District. Due to poor surveying,
Tryon County, North Carolina infringed on much of its northern boundaries through the 1770s. ==Divisions==