Camden Map
Camden is the fourth oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and is also the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was an estimated 7,103 in 2009. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Camden has a total area of 9.8 square miles (25.3 km²), of which, 9.6 square miles (25.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (1.23%) is water.
Camden is the oldest inland city and the fourth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. In 1730, Camden became part of a township plan ordered by King George II. Kershaw County’s official web site states, “Originally laid out in 1732 as the town of Fredericksburg in the Wateree River swamp (south of the present town) when King George III ordered eleven inland townships established along South Carolina's rivers, few of the area settlers chose to take lots surveyed in the town, choosing the higher ground to the north. The township soon disappeared.” In 1758, Joseph Kershaw, from Yorkshire, England came into the township, established a store and renamed the town Pine Tree Hill. Camden became the inland trade center in the colony. Kershaw suggested that the town be renamed Camden, in honor of Lord Camden, the champion of colonial rights.
Nearby cities include Rembert, Elgin, Bethune, Dalzell, Lugoff.