[7] Camden is located in the Midlands of South Carolina, in the south-central part of Kershaw County.

Kershaw County's official website states, "Originally laid out in 1732 as the town of Fredericksburg in the Wateree River swamp (south of the present town) when King George II ordered eleven inland townships established along South Carolina's rivers, few of the area settlers chose to take lots surveyed in the town, choosing the higher ground to the north.

In 1758, Joseph Kershaw from Yorkshire, England, came into the township, established a store, and renamed the town "Pine Tree Hill".

May 1780 brought the American Revolution to Charleston, South Carolina, when it fell under the Crown's control.

The Battle of Camden, the worst American defeat of the Revolution, was fought on August 16, 1780, near Camden, and on April 25, 1781, the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill was fought between about 1,400 troops led by General Nathanael Greene and 950 Loyalists and British soldiers led by Lord Francis Rawdon.

After the Revolution, Camden's prominence and wealth grew as a major interior trading town with direct ties to Charleston and the world.

Regional products, augmented with goods from the interior of North Carolina and far lands to the west were transported from Camden to Charleston on flat-bottom riverboats that plied the adjacent Wateree River before the railroad arrived in 1842.

At the end of the war, components of Sherman's army burned Confederate and nearby properties, including a full block of downtown buildings.

The last Federal officer killed in the Civil War was 1st Lt E.L. Stevens of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry who died in a skirmish 9 miles south of Camden at the Battle of Boykin's Mill on April 18, 1865.

Starting in the mid-1880s the Camden area became an increasingly popular destination for wealthy northern families to spend the winter.

That interest in equine activities has continued and today the horse industry is a major part of the county's economy.

[14] In 1977, DuPont notified the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of a study the company conducted which showed an "excessive incidence and cancer mortality" rate among a cohort of workers who worked at the plant from 1950 to 1955.

[17] Since the closure of the Orlon plant, the town has attracted a number of manufacturing companies such as Hengst GmbH & Co. and Haier.

Alfred Mae Drakeford, an African American woman, was elected mayor of Camden in November 2016.

Camden is part of South Carolina's 5th Congressional District, which is represented by Ralph Norman.

Founded in 2017, the festival features live Irish music and dancing, the Lucky Leprechaun 5K race, heavy event athletics, a kids zone, arts & crafts, a Medieval/Renaissance encampment, Irish wolfhounds, Gypsy Vanner horses, exotic birds, food trucks, and festive green beer.

[23] Revolutionary War Field Days are the signature event of Historic Camden, held the first full weekend of November since 1970.

Visitors have a chance to be a spectator for a battle each day, and they will be able to walk through the camps of the combatants while seeing demonstrations of Colonial crafts and skills.