Berkeley, county, southern South Carolina, U.S. It consists of a low-lying area on the Coastal Plain, with the suburbs of Charleston at its southern tip, and is bordered to the northeast by the Santee River and to the southeast by the Wando River; it is also drained by the Cooper River. Lake Marion, in the northwest, is formed by the Santee Dam; the lake’s southern outlet flows into Lake Moultrie, formed by the Pinopolis Dam on the Cooper River. Nearby is the Old Santee Canal State Park. Much of Berkeley county’s eastern half is occupied by Francis Marion National Forest, which includes Hell Hole Swamp.
Siouan-speaking Sewee Indians inhabited the area at the start of European settlement of Carolina in the 1670s. The county’s riverside swamps provided a haven for colonial guerrillas led by Francis Marion against the British during the American Revolution. The county was established in 1882 and named for Sir William Berkeley, a colonial governor of Virginia, and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, a colonial proprietor of Carolina.
Most of Berkeley county is covered by pine and cypress-hardwood forests. The processing of timber, including logging and sawmilling, dominates local industry, which also includes the manufacture of clothes and textile products. Sand and limestone are quarried, tobacco and corn (maize) are leading farm products, and recreation on the county’s man-made lakes is also important to the economy. The Charleston suburbs of Goose Creek and Hanahan are the largest cities; Moncks Corner is the county seat. Area 1,100 square miles (2,848 square km). Pop. (2000) 142,747; (2010) 177,843.