Aiken

Town and administrative headquarters of Aiken County, west-central South Carolina; population (1990) 19,900. It is located 27 km/17 mi east-northeast of Augusta, Georgia, in the Sandhills. Aiken produces textiles, electrical equipment, fertilizer, and fiberglass. Kaolin is mined nearby. It is home to a branch of the University of South Carolina (1961) and Aiken Technical College (1972).

Aiken was laid out in 1834 on the Charleston-Hamburg Railroad, and was a cotton mill town. It was the site of a February 1865 Civil War skirmish. By the 1880s it was becoming a wealthy resort, and has been known since as a centre for horse racing and polo. The 1950s opening of the Savannah River nuclear site, 19 km/12 mi to the south, brought an influx of population and industry.