Richland County, SC
History
Richland County may have been given the name by reason of the lands along its rivers. The county was formed in 1785 as part of the large Camden District. The Wateree River bounds it to the east and the Congaree River to the southwest, while the Saluda and the Broad rivers, which form the Congaree at Columbia, cut through it northwest and north.General William T. Sherman captured the county seat, Columbia, during the Civil War and his troops burned the town along with parts of the county on February 17, 1865. Shells from General Sherman's cannons, which were of light calibre, slightly damaged the new State House that was under construction at the time. Brass markers were subsequently placed on the west and southwest walls of the building to show where the shots had landed.