Chesterfield County Probate Records

Chesterfield County was formed in 1785, and was part of the Cheraw District until 1800 when it was named for the English statesman Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773). The county seat is the town of Chesterfield, but the oldest town in the county is Cheraw, which was settled around 1748.

The old Cheraw District attracted settlers to the Great Pee Dee River to establish farm communities. Welsh settlers from Pennsylvania and Delaware as well as the Scotch-Irish and English settled this region of the country.