Editing Lexington, South Carolina (section)

===Colonial Period===
[[File:Lexington, SC Main Street 1916.jpg|thumb|Lexington, SC Main Street (1916)]]
[[File:Lexington, SC 2019 Christmas Parade.jpg|right|thumb|Lexington 2019 Christmas Parade]]
In 1735, the colonial government of [[George II of Great Britain|King George II]] established 11 townships in backcountry South Carolina to encourage settlement and to provide a buffer between [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes to the west and colonial plantations in the [[Lowcountry]]. The townships included one named Saxe Gotha, which flourished with major crops of corn, wheat, tobacco, hemp, and flax as well as beeswax and livestock, and its residents were primarily of [[Germany|German]] and [[Switzerland|Swiss]] heritage.<ref name="Lexington History" />  Two major Native American trails existed in the area: the [[Cherokee Path]], primary route of English and Scots traders from [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charlestown]] to Native Americans in the [[Appalachian Mountains]], and the [[Trading Path|Occaneechi Path]], which connected natives from the [[Chesapeake Bay]] region to [[North Carolina]], [[South Carolina]], and [[Georgia (United States)|Georgia]].<ref name="Lexington History" />

In 1785, the name Saxe Gotha was replaced with Lexington County in commemoration of the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] in [[Massachusetts]]. In 1781, the Battle of Muddy Springs was fought to the south of the present-day town and the Battle of Tarrar Springs was fought within the present-day town limits.<ref>{{cite web |title=The American Revolution in South Carolina |url=https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/sc_revolution_engagements_lexington_county.html |website=carolana.com |access-date=July 25, 2022}}</ref>