History

The origin of the name Newberry is unknown. The county was formed in 1785 as a part of Ninety Six District, and the county seat is the city of Newberry. This part of the upcountry was settled largely by Scotch-Irish, English, and German immigrants in the mid-eighteenth century. Germans were so prevalent in part of Newberry County that it become known as Dutch Fork, with Dutch meaning Deutsch (German). Large scale cotton farming replaced small farms in the nineteenth century, and the coming of the railroad made Newberry a leading cotton market. Historians John Belton O'Neall (1795-1863) and David Duncan Wallace (1874-1951) were Newberry County natives, as was governor and U. S. Senator Coleman L. Blease (1868-1942).

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