It is also the site of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame.

For almost thirty years, settlers concentrated on the banks and small tributaries of the Pee Dee River.

Beginning in the 1760s, and continuing into the 1770s, other groups slowly made their way into present-day Darlington, and were granted lands on the Lynches River, Jeffries Creek, and a host of other watercourses.

For 30 years following the arrival of the first settlers, local government did not exist for the citizens of the area.

All deeds, estate settlements, and other legal matters had to be taken to Charles Town to be recorded.

A courthouse and jail were built at Long Bluff (near present-day Society Hill), and were operational by late 1772.

After the Revolutionary War, in 1785, Cheraw District was divided into three counties, Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington.

Both now sit in their present location because of an argument between two men, Colonel Lamuel Benton and Captain Elias Dubose, in the late 18th century.

It was rumored at the time that an old woman was responsible for the flames in an attempt to burn papers connected to her coming court case.

In 1865, Confederate troops returned through Darlington and hanged a former slave named Amy Spain on the Public Square for insurrection.

By 1865, Darlington was the headquarters for the Third Separate Brigade of the Military District of Eastern South Carolina and the Freedmen's Bureau.

In 1866, during the occupation, the worst fire to ever hit Darlington burned down the courthouse and the jail.

After their term of enlistment was over, the men returned to Darlington to reenlist in regiments going to Virginia.

They were also seen by President William McKinley in Savannah, Georgia, before being sent to Cuba for occupation duties near Havana.

Darlington Raceway is located on the western outskirts of town, 2 miles (3 km) west of the city center along SC 34/151.

It is mostly famous for hosting the Southern 500 in the NASCAR Cup Series, one of the championship's most enduring events.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Darlington has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.8 km2), all land.

[6] Darlington has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) typical of the Carolinas.

In late summer where the Southern 500 is run, the humidity leads to frequent rain delays and difficult environments for drivers, team personnel and spectators.

In spite of this, Darlington has occasionally recorded some minor inches of depth during brief snowfalls.

[11] While winter nights average right on the air frost limit,[12] ice days are not very frequent in general.

Even so, peak summer nights beneath 50 °F (10 °C) are unknown and there have been three separate 82 °F (28 °C) lows recorded in Darlington.

A 2012 article in Small Wars Journal explored a hypothetical military operation in which an extremist group sympathetic to the Tea Party movement takes over Darlington and clashes with federal troops.

[16][17] The town plays a major role in the season 2 episode "The Darlington 500" of the NBC series Timeless.

Darlington is the hometown of Marvel Comics supervillain, Zelda DuBois, Princess Python.

[18] She first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man' #22 in March of 1965, being created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.