Sumter County was established in 1800 as part of the Sumter District, which joined Clarendon, Claremont, Salem, and Sumter counties as one entity. Sumter County officially became its own county in 1868 and is named after General Thomas Sumter, who served in the Revolutionary War and later in the U.S. House of Representatives (a statue of Sumter stands near the courthouse entrance). During the war, General Sumter earned the nickname "Fighting Gamecock" for his battle tactics and determination. The first courthouse was built in 1821 and expanded in 1839 to look like other government buildings designed by famed architect Robert Mills, who designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The courthouse was enlarged again in 1896 but by the early 1900s, it was clear that a larger building was needed. The county bought the property in 1905 and the state legislature approved the project. The current courthouse was dedicated on October 21, 1907.

Sumter County Courthouse was built 1907 and expanded in the 1960s. It is a fine example of Beaux-Arts architecture.

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Sumter County Courthouse 

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Located in the heart of downtown Sumter, the Sumter County Courthouse has served as the seat of county government since it was built in 1907. Architect William Augustus Edwards, who was from Darlington, designed it in the Beaux-Arts style. Notable features include a recessed entrance portico with six columns and arched windows, windows with pediments on the first floor, and a stone entablature surrounding the entire top of the building. The courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a contributing property of the Sumter Historic District, which is also listed on the Register.

Sumter County Courthouse

The original part of the old school, the center portion, was built in 1937. The federal government helped fund its construction through the Works Progress Administration, which was one of several "New Deal" agencies established in the 1930s to boost the economy during the Great Depression. Additions (the south wing and the gym) were built in 1952 and in 1967 the columned facade was built.The 1952 additions were erected in response to a court case (Briggs v. Elliot) that challenged the segregated school system in Clarendon County. Until the 1950s, the quality of African American schools in South Carolina was very poor, so the state passed a new tax law to improve them to avoid integration. In 1951, the African American community in Sumter called for their schools in Sumter to be included in this effort, arguing that the schools were overcrowded and inadequate (51 students from Lincoln High also filed a petition with the city council). The new additions to Lincoln High were a significant upgrade.In its curriculum, Lincoln High was also somewhat unique. While most African American schools offered classes in the fundamentals and practical vocations— such as shop class, home economics, and typing—Lincoln High also offered classes in math, English, French, biology, chemistry, history, art, and music. In this way, Lincoln High represented an opportunity for young African Americans in Sumter and the surrounding communities to obtain a better education.South Carolina schools were finally desegregated in 1969 and Lincoln High merged with a white high school to form Sumter High School. Lincoln High operated as a campus of Sumter High until 1983. The old Lincoln High building became a Catholic school in 1984. Its name was later changed to the Trinity Lincoln Center after Trinity United Methodist Church bought it. The Church sold then building in 2009 to the Lincoln High School Alumni Association and Preservation Society.

The former Lincoln High School has been an important educational, social, and civic landmark for the local African American community since it was established in 1937. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it operated from 1937 to 1969 and now serves as a community gathering place for civic and social functions. The building represents a brief period when white South Carolinians who hoped to forestall racial integration supported better facilities for Black students after Black leaders pointed out that the doctrine of separate but equal implied that segregation was only legal if school facilities were equal. While the era of explicit segregation may seem distant, this former school is one of many public schools created prior to Brown v. Board that are now home to community organizations. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

Lincoln High School

Interest in library services in Sumter date back to 1809 when the Sumterville Circulating Library Society was established. The Sumter Civic League also provided a book-lending service (exactly when is unclear). Beginning in 1890, the state Superintendent of Public Schools, Dr. Samuel Edmunds, began calling for a library to be built in Sumter. It was suggested in 1902 that a request be made to Carnegie but this was not done until 1915. It should be noted that Carnegie agreed to send money as long as communities promised to meet certain conditions, such as agreeing to provide a yearly sum to keep the library in operation. In Sumter, the Sumter City Council promised to provide $1,000 per year and the Civic League supplied the books. Carnegie provided $10,000 for the project.By the 1930s, it was clear that the Carnegie Library was too small. However, it took a long for the project to move forward. A bond referendum for a new library in 1955 was voted down. Finally, in the 1960s the state received funds from the federal government through the Library Services and Construction Act to help build the new library, which opened in 1968. The Carnegie Library was underutilized until the Sumter County Museum bought it in 1989. The museum renovated the structure to house the museum archives, a genealogical and historical research center, and the Sumter County Genealogical Society. The Society is now located in the basement of the Williams-Brice House (the Sumter County Museum). The Carnegie Library building appears unused today.

The old Carnegie Public Library was the city's first and only public library in Sumter from 1917, when it was built, to 1968 when a new library opened. Though relatively small and apparently vacant as of mid-2021, it remains an important landmark in Sumter. It was one of the thousands of libraries built around the county using funds donated from philanthropist and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Local architects Herbert Johnson and N. Gaillard Walker designed the building in the Beaux-Arts style. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 and served as the headquarters of the Sumter County Library and the local genealogical society for many years.

Carnegie Public Library 

Sumter had one of the larger Jewish populations in 1800 and by the end of that century, there were two main congregations: the Hebrew Benevolent Society and the Hebrew Cemetery Society. They decided to merge in 1895 to form the&nbsp;Sumter Society of Israelites and sometime after bought the land for the wooden synagogue. Visiting rabbis presided over worship until 1904, when a rabbi finally moved to Sumter. Additions were built in 1932 and 1956.

Temple Sinai was built in 1912, replacing a wooden structure constructed around 1900. It belongs to the Congregation Sinai, whose official name is the Sumter Society of Israelites. The synagogue was designed in the Moorish Revival style. The congregation is still active and is a vital part of Sumter's Jewish community. The temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Temple Sinai 

The museum also features the Education Center, in which its programs and events are held. Also at the museum is an archives that contains 30,000 items including photographs, maps, personal letters, business records, postcards, and scrapbooks.

The Sumter County Museum is dedicated to preserving the county's history for future generations. It is a museum complex comprised of a recreated homestead, the historic Williams-Brice House, and a garden. The house is the main museum building, featuring period rooms, a military exhibit, fine and decorative arts, and an impressive textile collection. The homestead features several buildings including a log cabin, barn, and smokehouse. Two of these buildings are original: the settler's house and commissary structures, which were built between 1812-1836. The museum acquired the Williams-Brice House when the estate donated it in 1972.

Sumter County Museum

Henry Lee Scarborough was born in 1896 in the town of Bishopville, which at the time was part of Sumter County. As a young man, he attended The Citadel military academy for one year then at the University of South Carolina for two years. It is unclear what he studied but eventually, Scarborough became one of the most successful farmers in the county. He also got involved in the cotton and lumber industries, and served as the president of Rocky Bluff Lumber Company and vice president of the Travelers Protective Association of America. In 1889, he married his wife, Leonora. They at least had one child, a son name Alfred (b. 1893).As for local affairs, Scarborough served as County Treasurer from 1894 to 1902, and then as Sumter County Clerk of Court from 1902 to 1929. As noted above, he was also County Commissioner and under his tenure the city built its first water system. Additionally, he was a member of the YMCA, the Masons, the Woodmen of the World, and the Knights of Pythias. He attended First Presbyterian Church and served as school superintendent and choir director. Scarborough died in the house in 1929. Alfred inherited the house and became an influential figure in his own right. He was also a farmer and became a lawyer as well. In 1932, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served as chairman of the Agricultural and Banking and Insurance Committees. During his time in office, he introduced the idea putting electrification under state control. Alfred also established twelve regional cooperative banks and became president for the one that served the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia. Alfred moved back to Sumter in 1938 and was later elected to the state senate in 1942 and again in 1950. In Sumter, he was also a prominent member of First Presbyterian Church. It appears he lived until at least 1995, when the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

This elegant historic home was built in 1909 by prominent local farmer and businessman, Henry Lee Scarborough (1866-1929). Scarborough was also involved in the city's civic affairs, serving as Sumter County Commissioner of Public Works and in other roles. The house is one of the few surviving examples of early 20th century Classical Revival architecture in the city. It is two-stories tall and features a large porch with Corinthian columns, leaded glass in a diamond pattern directly above the entrance doors, and a small balcony above the main entrance. The house is currently occupied by a law office.

Henry Lee Scarborough House

The Opera House was the second multipurpose structure built for the city. The first was constructed in 1873 and it also served as a town hall, theater, and marketplace. That building was originally known as the Opera House, but in 1873, that historic structure was renamed Music Hall. In 1889, the Sumter City Council leased the building for three years and the building's name was changed again, this time to the Academy of Music. That former structure was remodeled in 1890 and only two years later, it was destroyed in a fire that also led to the loss of a number of nearby buildings.Construction for the present Opera House began in 1893 and the work was completed in 1895. In 1936, the theater portion of the Opera House was renovated into a movie theater and it operated for 46 years. In 1984, the City bought the building and renovated it in the hopes of helping revitalize downtown. The work was completed in 1987. City Hall moved into the building again (when it left the first time is unclear). The theater hosts local performers and groups as well as national touring acts.

Erected in 1895, the Sumter Opera House building is one of the city's best-known landmarks. It is somewhat unique in that serves as both an entertainment venue and City Hall. This dual purpose has made the building an important cultural and political center for the community. It was, in fact, the first permanent home of the city government and was also referred to as the Town Hall. The Opera House has also been the location of a meat market, barbershop, movie theater, and jail. The theater seats 500 people and hosts a variety of performances throughout the year. In terms of architecture, the building was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style and features a stone exterior, an attractive 100-foot-tall clock tower, and arched windows. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Sumter Opera House

John Haynsworth built the house on South Main Street around 1840. The next owner was successful mercantile business owner, William Bogin, who bought it in 1860. His second daughter, Kate, married Ireland native Neil O'Donnell, who worked for Bogin as a clerk. When Bogin died, Kate inherited the house around 1900 (Neil also took over the mercantile business). The O'Donnells moved the house to its present location sometime within the next five years. In 1905, they hired noted South Carolina architect Frank Pierce Milburn to redesign the house into the Classical Revival style. The O'Donnell's did not have children and willed the house to the Sister of Our Lady of Mercy in the late 1930s. The Sisters used the house as a school and orphanage until 1961. It then operated as a funeral home until 1988 when it was up for sale. In 1993, the house was a sold to a grocery store company that wanted to demolish it to make room for a new store. However, local senior citizens organized to save the old home and converted it into a senior center. Eventually, the senior center moved out and the house was briefly used as a temporary library during the renovation of the Sumter County Library. An antique store operated in the house for some time before the house became an event venue in 2009.

The O'Donnell House is one of the most striking historic homes in Sumter. It was originally built around 1840 by Major John Haynsworth and his wife, Mary DeLorme, in the Italianate style. It was later renovated into its current Classical Revival appearance. It now operates as a wedding and event venue. The most notable features of the house is the semi-circular two-story porch with Corinthian columns that support an elaborate cornice. The house is named after Neill and Kate O'Donnell, who acquired it around 1900. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

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Sumter County Courthouse

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