[2] The county is named after Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet,[3] one of the eight Lords Proprietor of the Province of Carolina.

[4] In 1682, Colleton was created as one of the three original proprietary counties, located in the southwestern coastal portion of the new South Carolina Colony and bordering on the Combahee River.

This area was developed for large plantations devoted to rice and indigo cultivation as commodity crops.

The planters depended on the labor of African slaves transported to Charleston for that purpose.

In the coastal areas, black slaves soon outnumbered white colonists, as they did across the colony by 1708.

In 1769, the three parishes were absorbed into the Charleston Judicial District, the southwestern portion of which was referred to as Saint Bartholomew's.

In 1868, under the Reconstruction era new state constitution, South Carolina districts were reorganized as counties.

According to the 2000 census, the Colleton County population was nearly 75% rural, with the exception of the Walterboro Urban Cluster (2000 pop.

The total county population was also designated as the Walterboro, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

[18] As of 2021[update], the current sheriff is Guerry L. "Buddy" Hill Jr.[19] As a part of the “Solid South," Colleton County was heavily Democratic throughout its early history.

More recently, it has become a Republican-leaning swing county that has backed the national winner in every presidential election since 1984, with the exception of 2020.

[23] Some of the largest employers include Colleton County School District, Cracker Barrel, Food Lion, and Walmart.