Ridgeland, South Carolina
Ridgeland is a town in Jasper and Beaufort counties, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,036 at the 2010 census, a 60% increase from 2000. It has been the county seat of Jasper County since the county's formation in 1912. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Ridgeland is included within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort metropolitan area. Ridgeland is home to the Ridgeland Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison... Show more operated by the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Ridgeland was originally known as "Gopher Hill" in 1894, derived from the gopher tortoise, which is indigenous to the area. The name was not considered good enough for a new railroad station, so it was changed to "Ridgeland" in 1902 for the fact that the town stands on a sandy ridge that is some of the highest land in Jasper County.