Colleton County

County in southern South Carolina, USA; area 2,725 sq km/1,052 sq mi; population (1990) 34,400. The county is bounded by St Helena Sound of the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway runs along its coast. Its seat is the city of Walterboro; population (1990) 5,500. Once one of the country's leading rice producers, the county remains rural, producing cotton, lumber, grain, and livestock. Tourism is also important, particularly at Colleton State Park to the north, and in the coastal section, which includes part of Edisto Island.

Earlier known as the Colleton District, this historic region was the birthplace of statesmen Robert Y Hayne (1791-1839) and Francis W Pickens (1805-69).