Spartanburg, South Carolina

Spartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States, and the twelfth largest city by population in the state. Spartanburg has a municipal population of 37,013 and an urban population of 180,786 at the 2010 census. The Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, corresponding to Spartanburg County and Union County had a population of 316,997 as of the 2012 census estimate and Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Spartanburg is the second-largest city in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area which had a population of 1,266,995 at the 2010 census. It is part of a 10-county region of northwestern South Carolina known as "The Upstate," and is located 98 miles (158 km) northwest of Columbia, 80 miles (130 km) west of Charlotte, North Carolina, and about 190 miles (310 km) northeast of Atlanta, Georgia.

History

Spartanburg was formed in 1785 and was named after a local militia called the Spartan Regiment in the American Revolutionary War. The Spartan Regiment, commanded by Andrew Pickens, participated in the nearby Battle of Cowpens. In 1831 Spartanburg became incorporated and later became known as the "Hub City" due to the railroad lines forming wheel hub shapes in the area. Around 40 textile mills were established in the late 1800s and early 1900s. During World War I Camp Wadsworth was used to train 100,000 soldiers for the war. Camp Croft also trained soldiers during World War II and is now called Croft State Park. By the 1950s mills began to decline as wages and the automobile industry increased. BMW US Manufacturing Company, BMW's only North American manufacturing plant, was established in 1992.