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C−History
History · South Point

South Point’s post office opened in 1855

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #933 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Most of South Point was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1900.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How South Point began

When was South Point founded?

1855

The South Point post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Greenes Store (1837) and North Kenova (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 281 in 19002020 census: 3,836171 years

How historic is South Point?

C−

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first South Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives South Point’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Point is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #933 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Point’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.2% of homes (±2.3) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical OH town 2.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 6%

Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so South Point’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about South Point’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 South Point are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s South Point, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Point’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Point’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

South Point’s post office has been open since 1855. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Greenes Store
1837–1855
South Point
1855–today
North Kenova
1892–1960
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North Kenova
Gone or out of use
Buckeye Ordnance Worksmilitary

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How South Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of South Point.

Read it all →

A post office called South Point has been in operation since 1855 in Fayette Township. The village was so named for the fact the southernmost point in the state is contained within its borders. Now considered to be a populated place within South Point, in 1918 the community of North Kenova was located at (38.412, -82.578), so named because it was on the opposite bank of the Ohio River from Kenova, West Virginia.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

South Point, 1837 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Greenes Store post office opens
  3. 1840Born hereSamuel Russell Thomas is born here
  4. 1855Post officeThe Greenes Store post office closes
  5. 1855Post officeThe South Point post office opens
  6. 1892Post officeThe North Kenova post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1960Post officeThe North Kenova post office closes
By decade

South Point, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Kenova Rail Bridge 2023b2023Kenova Rail Bridge 2023bKenova Rail Bridge 2023a2023Kenova Rail Bridge 2023aSouth Point, Ohio Welcome Sign2022South Point, Ohio Welcome SignSouth Point High School2020South Point High SchoolSouth Point Elementary School from southeast2016South Point Elementary School from southeastSouth Point Christian Church2016South Point Christian ChurchMap of Lawrence County Ohio Highlighting South Point Village2015Map of Lawrence County Ohio Highlighting South Point …MapConfluence of Ohio and Big Sandy River, South Point, Ohio; Kenova, West Virginia; Ashland, Kentucky2014Confluence of Ohio and Big Sandy River, South Point, …Confluence of Ohio and Big Sandy River, South Point, Ohio; Kenova, West Virginia; Ashland, Kentucky2014Confluence of Ohio and Big Sandy River, South Point, …OHMap-doton-South Point2004OHMap-doton-South Point
On the map

South Point on the map, 1903 to 1985

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

South Point on the 1903 USGS mapSouth Point on the 1985 USGS map1903Kenova sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

South Point, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,958

Between 281 and 3,958 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on South Point’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fayette Township4 historic placesC+Perry TownshipIts storyC−Burlington3 historic placesB+

Questions about South Point’s history

What year was South Point founded?

The South Point post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does South Point rank for history?

South Point is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #933 of 993 in Ohio. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in South Point?

2% of South Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1978.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.