As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and used by the U.S. Census Bureau for statistical purposes only, Reevesville is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area.

Reevesville is a predominantly agrarian community situated between the banks of Cattle Creek and Polk Swamp near the Edisto River in Upper Dorchester County.

The town’s name originates from its time as a once bustling railroad community known as “Reeves Station.” In 1832, the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company constructed a rail line through the region connecting Reeves Station to Charleston.

The town is named for local farmer, David D. Reeves, who supplied wood as a source of fuel to the first locomotives to pass through the area.

The Reeves name is associated with the area early as 1759 and is later noted in Robert Mills Atlas of South Carolina published in 1851.