Bennettsville is a city located in the U.S. state of South Carolina on the Great Pee Dee River.

The city of Bennettsville was founded in 1819 on the Great Pee Dee River and named after Thomas Bennett, Jr., then governor of South Carolina.

The area was developed for short-staple cotton cultivation, dependent on the labor of enslaved African Americans.

The advent of the gin in turn led to development of large cotton plantations throughout the Deep South.

[citation needed] In the same year, the S.C. General Assembly authorized the relocation of the courthouse from the eastern bank of the Great Pee Dee River to a more central location, selecting a 3-acre (12,000 m2) apple orchard located on a bluff above Crooked Creek.

During this time, the Jennings-Brown House and the first County Courthouse were used as the headquarters for General William T. Sherman.

Additions included two-story red brick wings and the present clock steeple, all designed by Bennettsville architect Henry D. Harrall.

In 1885, Duncan Donald McColl financed development of the first railroad, bank and textile mills in Bennettsville, stimulating the economy as the town was connected to other markets and built an industry.

Its contributing buildings include the Jennings-Brown House (1826), the Female Academy (1830), the Medical Museum (1902), and the Murchison School (1902), as well as other residences in the Queen Anne and Beaux Arts style.

Named in honor of national activist Marian Wright Edelman, who was born and grew up in Bennettsville, it opened on February 22, 2010.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,020 people, 2,850 households, and 1,684 families residing in the city.

The mayor is Leith Fowler and council members include Sandy Donaldson, Tyrone R. Davis, Allen Taylor, Tyron Abraham, Gregory Scott, and Jean Quick.