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Originally settled by the Germans, Swiss, and Dutch, Ballentine is a small town in what is known as the Dutch Fork area. This area includes the land from Newberry to Columbia and between the Saluda and Broad Rivers. Alan Ballentine moved his family to this rural farming area in the 1850s. His descendants operated a sawmill, gristmill, cotton gin, general store, and an oil company at various times from the 1890s to the 1990s. In the 1890s, the railroad came through the Ballentine property and had a stop that was known as Ballentine's Mill. Later it became known as Ballentine. The town of Ballentine, like so many small towns and communities in the area, sprang up around the railroad. While some towns like Chapin incorporated, others like White Rock, Hilton, and Ballentine did not, so the area, while successful, retained the feel of a small town. With Lake Murray nearby and the interstate within minutes, Ballentine's history has been preserved as a wonderful place to live and visit in South Carolina.

Fort Jackson is a sprawling military base east of Columbia, South Carolina. With the impending entry of America into World War I, city fathers recognized the country's need for military training camps and made a successful proposal to the US Army for construction of a camp near Columbia. Named after Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and the seventh US president, Camp Jackson soon became the home of the famous 81st "Wildcat" Division and, later, the 5th Infantry Division. Over time, the camp's prospects waned, but the advent of another world war brought renewed interest in the camp and its eventual designation as Fort Jackson in 1940. Fort Jackson has been instrumental in the mobilization and training of troops for service in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terror. Today, Fort Jackson is the Army's premier basic training installation, responsible for over 50 percent of Army trainees each year.

Augusta Road was constructed in the 1830s as a trade route between Greenville, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia. Through Greenville's textile boom, Augusta Road was transformed from a series of farms owned by some of Greenville's forefathers to some of the city's first suburbs and home to the South's first retail shopping center. Today, Augusta Road continues to be a destination point because of its unique shopping district and is a desirable area for living and raising a family. Augusta Road residents include nationally known politicians and entertainers.