Editing Pickens County, South Carolina (section)

===Post-Civil War to present===
After the war, the region was largely destitute. The South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1868, meeting during the first year of Congressional [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]], changed the name "district" to "county" throughout the state. The convention also organized Oconee County, from a portion of Pickens District that was west of the Keowee and [[Seneca River (South Carolina)|Seneca]] rivers, plus a small area around the Fort Hill estate formerly belonging to statesman [[John C. Calhoun]]. In the 1960s, this small area around the Calhoun property was transferred to Pickens County.

A new courthouse for Pickens County was erected at its present location. Many of the residents of Old Pickens, on the Keowee River, moved to the newly created town, some relocating their dismantled homes. The loss of the Oconee area greatly reduced the population of Pickens County. It did not again reach 19,000 until 1900.

The county's growth was accelerated by the building of the [[Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway]] (later called the [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]]) in the 1870s. The town of Easley, named for General W. K. Easley, was chartered in 1874. The towns of [[Liberty, South Carolina|Liberty]] and [[Central, South Carolina|Central]] sprang up along the railroad about the same time and were soon incorporated. Calhoun (now part of [[Clemson, South Carolina|Clemson]]) was founded in the 1890s, to be followed in the early 1900s by [[Six Mile, South Carolina|Six Mile]] and [[Norris, South Carolina|Norris]] as incorporated areas.

A major factor in Pickens County's growth was the development of the regional [[textile industry]], which had earlier been based in [[New England]] and [[New York (state)|New York]]. The county's first modern [[cotton mill]], organized by D. K. Norris and others, was established at [[Cateechee, South Carolina|Cateechee]] in 1895. By 1900 the county boasted three cotton mills, two railroads, three banks, three roller mills, 37 sawmills, ten shingle mills, and four brickyards.

Yet until 1940, with a population of 37,000 (13.2 percent black), the county remained primarily rural and agricultural. Like many other [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] counties, Pickens had a one-crop economy. Its citizens were engaged mainly in growing cotton or manufacturing it into cloth. A notable change in the Pickens landscape was the coming of paved highways; one completed across the county, about 1930, ran from [[Greenville, South Carolina|Greenville]] to [[Walhalla, South Carolina|Walhalla]] by way of Easley, Liberty, and Central.<ref name="SChistory"/>

The most significant developments in the county's history have occurred since World War II. By 1972 there were 99 manufacturing plants in the county, employing almost 15,000 personnel and producing not only textiles but a wide variety of other products. The population today{{when?|date=July 2024}} is estimated to be 93,894 residents.{{fact|date=July 2024}} According to an article written for ''Pickens County Heritage'', new residents continue to be attracted to Pickens County "because of its climate, industrial opportunity, proximity to Greenville's labor market, and scenic beauty".<ref name="SChistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.co.pickens.sc.us/history/default.aspx|title=History|website=Co.pickens.sc.us|access-date=January 2, 2018 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180110205523/http://www.co.pickens.sc.us/history/default.aspx | archivedate = January 10, 2018 }}</ref>