Winyah County, South Carolina Genealogy

United StatesSouth Carolina Winyah County

Alternate Spelling
Winyaw

History
Winyah County was created in 1785 within Georgetown District from the southernmost part of the overarching Georgetown District. See the 1785 South Carolina map.

Winyah County was never surveyed or properly laid out. Its boundaries were ambiguous. Its county government never became functional. Most records were kept at the parish level, or at the Georgetown District level; none were kept at the county level. There was no county seat. There were no political connotations to the county's existence. In this case the term "county" had no meaning other than to describe an approximate geographical area. It was a county in name only.

Winyah County was renamed Georgetown County in 1800.

For documents of people who lived in this area 1785-1800, look in:


 * Prince George Parish records since 1721
 * Prince Frederick Parish records since 1734
 * All Saints Parish records since 1767
 * papers filed in the district seat at Georgetown, South Carolina
 * papers filed in the early capital at Charleston, South Carolina

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating South Carolina county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation South Carolina County Boundary Maps" (1682-1987) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.