Several editions of The Best Small Towns in America have listed Georgetown as one of the best little communities in the U.S., and it’s no wonder. The slow-paced river town, third-oldest city in South Carolina, has much to offer its residents.

Founded during the Colonial period and named for England’s king, Georgetown really got going in the 1730s, after the carnage of the brutal Yamassee war had passed and settlers grew less fearful of Indian attack. With the importation of African slaves to clear the swamps, rice and indigo soon became fiercely profitable for parish planters. Soon, Georgetown became an official port of entry, allowing

local planters to cut out the middlemen in Charles Town, and adding to the area’s wealth. In 1757, the first public school between Charles Town and Wilmington, NC opened in Georgetown.

After the indigo trade died off, rice growing dominated the market; by the time of the War Between the States, the Georgetown region grew 50% of the young country’s rice. Most of the area was divided up into large plantations on which white owners lived amidst hundreds of slaves. When the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, some estimate that 85% of the Georgetown Distict’s population was African American.