 Under the 1868 Constitution of the State of South Carolina, passed during the Reconstruction era, South Carolina districts became counties with home rule, where the legislative representatives from each county had additional powers as councillors of their county.The first courthouse was built near the Great Pee Dee River, just north of Crooked Creek, in a village called Carlisle, named for Richard Carlisle.In order to have a more central location for the county court, the state legislature designated Bennettsville founded in 1819, as the new county seat.