St. George, SC

St. George has been Dorchester County's seat since the county was created in 1897, but the town's first big growth came from the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. The railroad ran through town and helped establish the local commercial line, while the courthouse role kept St. George as the county's administrative center. Then in 1986 a local grocery-store conversation about grits turned into the World Grits Festival, now the town's signature annual event. St. George is a South Carolina town with a courthouse, a rail line, and a festival origin story that starts in the cereal aisle.