Oconee County

County of northwestern South Carolina, USA, in the Blue Ridge Mountains; area 1,629 sq km/629 sq mi; population (1990) 57,500. It is bounded to the north by North Carolina, to the northwest by the Chattooga River, and to the southwest by the Tugaloo River, along the Georgia state line. Its seat is Walhalla; population (1990) 3,800. The heavily wooded northwestern section forms part of the Sumter National Forest. Mountainous, with abundant lakes and rivers, Oconee County is a popular tourist area and has a number of retirement communities. Timber, cotton, corn, and wheat are produced. The Oconee nuclear power plant (1973) lies along Lake Keowee, northeast of Seneca.

In the mid 18th century the area was a centre of the Regulator movement, which sought to bring law and order to the back country.