Pee Dee Country

Pee Dee Country covers the northeastern interior of South Carolina, the rolling coastal-plain country drained by the Pee Dee, Lynches, and Black rivers. The region’s name comes from the Pee Dee Native American people. The terrain is mostly flat to gently rolling — pine flatwoods and tobacco country, with the broad bottomlands of the Pee Dee River cutting south through the eastern counties. Elevations stay below 200 feet. Seven counties cover the region. Florence holds Florence (the largest city); Darlington holds Darlington (the home of Darlington Raceway, which has hosted the Southern 500 since 1950); Dillon holds Dillon and the famous South of the Border roadside complex; Marion holds Marion; Marlboro holds Bennettsville; Lee holds Bishopville (the home of the Cotton Museum and the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden); Williamsburg holds Kingstree. The Lynches Scenic River, the Little Pee Dee State Park, and the Lee State Park concentrate the public-land scenery. Most trips here run NASCAR-and-roadside focused. Darlington Raceway draws the largest single-stream visitor traffic — the Southern 500 each Labor Day weekend; South of the Border at Dillon (the I-95 roadside attraction with its 200-foot Sombrero Tower) handles a different kind of traffic; the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville draws garden visitors; Florence’s Civil War prison camp history fills cultural visits.