MCCORMICK COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA

McCormick, South Carolina

A gold rush town platted into forty surveyed acres by the man who invented the reaper — now the gateway to a 71,000-acre lake.

Where is McCormick, SC?

McCormick sits in the western Piedmont of South Carolina, about halfway between Augusta, Georgia and Greenwood, South Carolina. It's the county seat of McCormick County — one of the least populous counties in the state, home to roughly 2,200 residents in town and about 9,500 across the county. The town borders Lake Thurmond directly to the south and east, with Sumter National Forest covering much of the county to the west.

1916County Seat

45 MINTo Augusta, GA

2 HRSTo Atlanta, GA

What is McCormick, SC known for?

McCormick's whole existence traces back to gold. In 1857, prospector William "Fool Billy" Dorn opened the Dorn Gold Mines on this ground — local legend credits his hunting dogs with turning up the first flecks. Fourteen years later, Cyrus McCormick, who'd made his fortune inventing the mechanical reaper, bought the mining operation for $20,000 and laid out a town of forty surveyed acres around it. He named it after himself, and the grid he platted in 1871 is still the town's footprint today.

What draws people here now is what surrounds that footprint: a 71,000-acre lake, a lakefront retirement community with its own golf courses and rec center, and a state resort park that's the only one of its kind in South Carolina. Read the full history →

Is McCormick, SC a good place to retire?

For a lot of people, yes — and the numbers explain why. Savannah Lakes Village, the county's largest community, covers 4,300 acres along Lake Thurmond with two championship golf courses, a 23,000-square-foot recreation center, and fiber-optic internet run to every homesite. There's no initiation fee and no monthly minimum, property taxes are low, and homes start around $200,000. The community backs up to three state parks and Sumter National Forest, adding up to more than 100 miles of hiking and biking trails without leaving.

See the full guide to living in McCormick →

What is there to do at Lake Thurmond?

Lake Thurmond — officially Lake Strom Thurmond, renamed from Clarks Hill Lake in 1987 — covers 71,000 acres, making it the second-largest man-made lake east of the Mississippi. McCormick County alone has roughly 36 public boat ramps along its shoreline. Anglers fish for striped, hybrid, and largemouth bass, plus crappie and bluegill. Hickory Knob State Resort Park, the only resort park in South Carolina's state park system, adds an 18-hole championship golf course, archery, skeet, and its own stretch of shoreline. Paddlers can follow the Little River Blueway, 51 miles of marked trail through Sumter National Forest.

Explore the full guide to the lake →

What's the history behind the town of McCormick?

The area's history runs deeper than the gold rush. French Huguenots settled nearby New Bordeaux in the 1760s, and the Guillebeau House still stands at Hickory Knob as one of the oldest structures in the region. The gold-mining town Cyrus McCormick platted in 1871 incorporated in 1882, and when McCormick County split off from Edgefield, Abbeville, and Greenwood counties in 1916, the town became its seat. The county still holds an annual Gold Rush Festival with gold panning, quilting, and pottery, and Willington — one of the county's historic rail towns — is known locally as the "Book Town" of McCormick County.

Read the full history →