Spartanburg

City and administrative headquarters of Spartanburg County, northwest South Carolina, USA, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 145 km/90 mi northwest of Columbia; population (2000) 39,700. It is the commercial and shipping centre for an agricultural and lumbering area. Industries include timber-milling, and the manufacture of furniture, cotton textiles, paper, ceramics, and plumbing supplies. The city is home to Wofford College (1854), Converse College (1889), and several other schools.

Established as a courthouse village in 1785, it took its name from the Spartan Rifles, a local Revolutionary regiment. The area became noted for its cotton mills and ironworks, and after 1865 growth was spurred by the intersection of three major rail lines.