Sumter, SC
Music connected to Sumter
About Sumter
- • Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, a Grammy winner, was born in Sumter.
- • The Sumter Cut Rate Drug Store chain originated here in 1933, expanding across the South.
- • Its strategic location near railroads during the Civil War made it a Confederate supply depot.
- • Legend says a Revolutionary War soldier's ghost haunts Sumter's Sumter Military College.
- • The devastating 1911 fire destroyed much of Sumter's downtown commercial district.
- • Named for General Thomas Sumter, "The Gamecock", it was established in 1785.
- • With roughly 43,000 residents, it's smaller than nearby Florence but larger than Orangeburg.
- • Its elevation of 167 feet gives it a gently rolling coastal plain landscape.
- • Shaw Air Force Base provides many jobs and drives Sumter's economy.
- • A sense of peaceful Southern charm permeates the air, with friendly faces everywhere.
- • The Columbia Fireflies, a minor league baseball team, are the closest pro sports.
- • Sumter High School won the 2022 SCHSL Class 5A football state championship.
