Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the William and Elisabeth Edwards House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1860.
The Spartansburg post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spartansburg’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Spartansburg yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 305 to 281 (-8%).
Peaked at 516 in 1890; 281 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Spartansburg’s Wikipedia page.
Passages that mention Spartansburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first school was taught by Patty Blakeslee in a deserted cabin which stood about a mile south from Spartansburg. The next was taught by Miss Phoebe Patton in the first schoolhouse built in the township. It stood in the southern part, near the northwest corner of Tract 1644. Miss Phoebe Dickey soon after succeeded and instructed the youth for several years. Stephen Post was also a pioneer pedagogue here. Miss Ruth Gleason held a term about 1833 in a schoolhouse built a half mile west of the village.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
postoffice some time after, its name was changed to Spartansburg, and as such it was incorporated in 1856. The early records are not at hand. Recent Burgesses have been the following: C. H. Buck, 1868; J. W. Williams, 1869, A.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
acres of land through this section, he was probably the best posted person in regard to the early settlements and improvements of Sparta Township. He died April 20, 1884, honored and respected by all. His widow, now residing in Spartansburg, is descended from one of the pioneer families of this township. To them were born three childi-en, two now living: Warren W. and Horace, also residing here. Our subject worked at carpentering three years, taught school seven terms, and on September 10, 1862, enlisted in the Sixteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, serving until January 30, 1865, when he received
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spartansburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Spartansburg.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1915Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Spartansburg’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The Spartansburg post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the William and Elisabeth Edwards House (listed 2024).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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