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History · Spartanburg

Spartanburg’s post office opened in 1842, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1916 on.

1842first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Spartanburg began

When was Spartanburg founded?

1842

The Spartanburg post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name.

184 years
Founding year: the first Spartanburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Spartanburg’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Spartanburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19164 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1992. Watch Spartanburg change.Deep rootsA post office since 1842: 184 years of Spartanburg.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spartanburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spartanburg’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Spartanburg on the map, 1916 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spartanburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Spartanburg on the 1916 USGS mapSpartanburg on the 1943 USGS mapSpartanburg on the 1960 USGS mapSpartanburg on the 1992 USGS map1916Winchester sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Spartanburg.

The story

How Spartanburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Spartanburg.

Read it all →

Spartanburg was first known as Newberg, and under the latter name was founded in 1832. A post office was established under the name Spartanburg in 1842, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1907.

The Union Literary Institute, a school founded by Quakers for African-American students, was 2 miles from Spartanburg.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Questions about Spartanburg’s history

What year was Spartanburg founded?

The Spartanburg post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.