SALUDA

county, west-central South Carolina, U.S. The Saluda River and Lake Murray provide the northern boundary, and the western corner lies within Sumter National Forest. The county consists of a piedmont region of low hills, with large areas forested in pine woods. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries the region was inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Saluda Indians; by the mid-18th century European settlers were well established there. Saluda county was formed in 1896. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries cotton was a leading element in the region's agriculture. Since then the raising of chickens and cattle and the production of milk and eggs have been the basis of the economy, along with lumbering and textile production. The town of Saluda is the county seat. Area 451 square miles (1,169 square km). Pop. (1990) 16,357; (1998 est.) 17,025.