Aiken’s post office opened in 1834, and 26 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #32 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Aiken was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. 26 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 206 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
The Aiken post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1835. Two smaller post offices, Millbrook (1879) and Roseland (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,817 in 18802020 census: 32,025192 years
How historic is Aiken?
A−
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Aiken post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1835.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Aiken’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aiken is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #32 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aiken’s overall grade.
South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Aiken’s 72.3 sits above most of its state (81% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 235 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1835 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Aiken’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The municipality of Aiken was incorporated on December 19, 1835. The community formed around the terminus of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, a rail line from Charleston to the Savannah River, and was named for William Aiken, the railroad's first president.
During Sherman's March to the Sea in the American Civil War Sherman ordered Hugh Judson Kilpatrick and the cavalry corps he commanded to march through South Carolina. By February 5, they had reached Aiken County. While there, Kilpatrick fought Joseph Wheeler and his cavalry corps. This battle, called the Battle of Aiken, was a Confederate victory.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aiken. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Aiken 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 Aiken.
Every building
Aiken, building by building, 1884–1918
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 year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewPark Ave, 1860
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Aiken’s page.
The Aiken post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1835.
How does Aiken rank for history?
Aiken is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #32 of 169 in South Carolina. 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.
What is on the National Register in Aiken?
26 listings: 19 buildings, among them the Phelps House (listed 1974, the first), 5 historic districts with 206 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 235 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Aiken?
5% of Aiken’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (26), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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c. 1899
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