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South Carolina · Midlands · #757
Orangeburg County, South Carolina
In the South Carolina Midlands, Orangeburg holds two historically Black universities - South Carolina State University and Claflin University - and the site of the Orangeburg Massacre of 1968, when South Carolina State Highway Patrol officers opened fire on students protesting a segregated bowling alley, killing three and injuring 27, in an event that preceded and prefigured the Kent State shootings by two years.
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Office: Orangeburg County Office of Emergency Services – PO Drawer 9000, Orangeburg, SC 29116 | (803) 533-6265 | Fax: (803) 533-5899
Services: Created in 1988 (originally the Emergency Preparedness Department); serves as the county’s coordinating agency for disaster response and recovery planning; offers CodeRED weather warning alerts
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-26 and US-301/US-601 serve Orangeburg, the county seat, in South Carolina’s Midlands
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Services: Building permits (residential and commercial), plan review, and inspections for unincorporated Orangeburg County under adopted building codes (2023 edition currently in effect); handles tiny house compliance for structures 400 sq ft or less
Notes: Numerous incorporated towns within the county (Bowman, Rowesville, Santee, Springfield, Holly Hill, Vance, and others) maintain their own SEPARATE permitting processes – confirm the correct jurisdiction for your property.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Orangeburg County Veterans Affairs Office – Orangeburg, SC
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Orangeburg County Library – main branch in Orangeburg plus branches in Bowman, Holly Hill, North, and Santee, and a bookmobile
Main Branch: Orangeburg County Library and Conference Center – 1645 Russell Street, Orangeburg, SC 29115 | (803) 531-4636 | Hours: (general county office hours Mon–Fri 8:30 AM–5 PM; confirm specific library hours directly)
Services: A well-resourced system holding over 177,000 volumes and circulating roughly 354,000 items annually, serving a population base of over 92,000; features a children’s area with a playground, storytime, arts and crafts, and summer programming; also functions as a conference center for community events
Key Assets: Orangeburg is genuinely the site of the ORANGEBURG MASSACRE, one of the most significant and least widely recognized tragedies of the American Civil Rights Movement; on the night of February 8, 1968, South Carolina Highway Patrol officers opened fire on a crowd of roughly 200 largely unarmed students gathered on the campus of South Carolina State College (now South Carolina State University), a historically Black institution; three young men – Samuel Hammond Jr., 18; Henry Smith, 18; and Delano Middleton, a 17-year-old local high school student – were killed, and 27 to 28 others were wounded; the unrest had built over several nights following student protests against the segregation of a local bowling alley, the All Star Bowling Lanes, whose owner refused to desegregate despite the 1964 Civil Rights Act; it stands as the first instance in American history of college students being killed by police during a protest, predating the more widely remembered 1970 Kent State shootings by two years, yet it received comparatively little national attention at the time; South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges issued the state’s first formal apology for the massacre in 2001; today, South Carolina State University holds an annual commemoration each February 8 honoring the victims, their families, and the survivors, and a historical marker stands on campus; Orangeburg more broadly served as the center of South Carolina’s desegregation movement from 1950 to 1972, home to two HBCUs (South Carolina State University and Claflin University) that anchored sustained student civil rights activism throughout that era
Notes: The Orangeburg Massacre’s genuine, well-documented status as a pivotal and under-recognized Civil Rights-era tragedy is presented here as a matter of established historical record and continuing public commemoration.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Orangeburg County GIS – accessible via orangeburgcounty.org
Parcel Search: Orangeburg County Assessor
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Orangeburg County Office of Emergency Services
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Orangeburg County Animal Control and Shelter – 1596 Ellis Avenue, Orangeburg, SC 29118 | (803) 533-6178 / (803) 534-0045 (complaints) | Hours: Mon–Thu 10 AM–4:30 PM (closed Fri–Sun)
Services: Serves residents of Orangeburg County, the second-largest county in South Carolina by area; works with local rescues and the separate Orangeburg SPCA to place adoptable animals; reclaim fee $45/day per animal, with a $20/day boarding charge after 5 days; violations of the county animal control ordinance can carry fines up to $500; runs a Pet Pantry providing temporary food assistance to county residents facing hardship
Related: Orangeburg SPCA – 225 Ruff Road, Orangeburg, SC 29118, (803) 536-3918, a SEPARATE nonprofit entity from county Animal Control, open for adoptions Mon–Fri 11 AM–4 PM.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: SC DHEC – scdhec.gov
Notes: Contact Orangeburg County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Orangeburg is genuinely the site of the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre, one of the most significant and least widely recognized tragedies of the American Civil Rights Movement, still commemorated annually by South Carolina State University. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Orangeburg County
Orangeburg County’s history carries the weight of one of the most significant but least-nationally-known civil rights incidents in American history. The Orangeburg Massacre of February 8, 1968 – in which SC State students protesting the segregation of a local bowling alley were met with gunfire from state troopers – killed Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond, and Delano Middleton and injured 27 others. The event preceded the May 1970 Kent State shootings by two years; unlike Kent State, it received minimal national attention at the time, partly because the students were Black and partly because the national media was preoccupied with the Tet Offensive. Cleveland Sellers, a civil rights activist on campus that night, was convicted of riot charges and later pardoned; he eventually became president of Voorhees University.
South Carolina State University, a historically Black land-grant institution, and Claflin University, one of the oldest HBCUs in South Carolina (founded 1869), give Orangeburg a higher education presence of historical depth and ongoing significance. The county’s agricultural economy – soybeans, timber, poultry – is the rural foundation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
South Carolina assesses owner-occupied residential property at 4% of fair market value. Property owners may appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals. South Carolina offers homestead exemptions for residents 65 or older. South Carolina has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
PROBATE COURT
Address: 1437 Amelia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115
Phone: (803) 533-6255
Services: Wills, estates, guardianships
CIRCUIT COURT
Address: 1437 Amelia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115
Phone: (803) 533-6255
Website: sccourts.org/orangeburg
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
1437 Amelia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115
(803) 533-6255
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Orangeburg County Probate Court, Orangeburg (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Orangeburg County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Orangeburg County Probate Court 1406 Amelia Street (mailing: PO Drawer 9000), Orangeburg, SC 29115 (803) 533-6260
Orangeburg County is in central South Carolina, seated in Orangeburg. One hour parking is available near the courthouse, with additional parking behind Smiley’s Presto Shine and Muffler Center.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
South Carolina HAS adopted a version of the Uniform Probate Code, giving it more standardized and generally more streamlined procedures than states with older, common-law-based systems. Probate is handled by a dedicated Probate Court in each of South Carolina’s 46 counties – a separate court of limited jurisdiction, led by an elected Probate Judge (four-year term). The case is filed in the county where the decedent lived.
Small Estate Affidavit / Collection by Affidavit (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201) – available when the gross value of the entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $45,000 (raised from $25,000 for deaths after May 2025). At least 30 days must have passed since death, and no petition for appointment of a personal representative can be pending anywhere. The successor files a Form 420PC “Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property,” which the probate judge approves and countersigns.
Summary Administration (§ 62-3-1203) – a simplified probate procedure available when the value of the estate passing by will (less liens and encumbrances) is under the statutory threshold, or when the surviving spouse is the sole heir or beneficiary.
Informal Probate – the standard path for the majority of estates. No notices or hearings are required unless demanded by an interested party.
Formal Proceedings – reserved for contested matters: objections to a personal representative’s appointment, will contests, a lost or destroyed will, or declaratory judgments on intestacy.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files a petition with the Orangeburg County Probate Court where the decedent resided; if there’s a will, the original is filed with it.
For informal probate, the Probate Judge (or a designated staff member) reviews the application administratively; formal proceedings require notice and a hearing.
The court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, giving the personal representative authority to act.
The personal representative files an inventory and appraisement within 90 days of qualification, and provides periodic accountings as the court requires.
Creditors are notified; claims not timely presented are barred.
The estate closes with a final settlement – a verified report and proposed distribution served on interested parties and approved by the Probate Court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary; check with Orangeburg County directly for current fees.
A personal representative’s bond, when required, must equal one and one-half times the value of the estate’s personal property, though bond can often be waived under certain conditions.
South Carolina does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
1437 Amelia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115
(803) 533-6255
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1437 Amelia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115
(803) 534-3550
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
VOTER REGISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
1437 Amelia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115
(803) 533-6220
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
DHEC Public Health Office
1541 Amelia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115
(803) 533-6100
Department of Social Services
1690 Village Ford Rd, Orangeburg, SC 29118
(803) 533-6300
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Orangeburg County Public Health (DHEC) – Orangeburg, SC
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Orangeburg
Population: 84,000
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Orangeburg County facilities via Amazon.
