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B−History
History · Belton

Belton’s post office opened in 1851, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #66 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Belton was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Its Register listings are the Belton Depot, the Chamberlain-Kay House and the Belton Standpipe. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1880.

1851first post office
3on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Belton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Belton began

When was Belton founded?

1851

The Belton post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1855.

First census: 314 in 18802020 census: 4,335175 years

How historic is Belton?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Belton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Belton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belton is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #66 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Belton’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.1% of homes (±4.7) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 6.7 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 61%

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 Belton’s 6.7 sits near the middle of its state (60% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1855 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 Belton’s past

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

Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1906 to 1930, drew every building in Belton.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.Old housesHalf of Belton’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Every building

Belton, building by building, 1906–1930

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.

Belton fire insurance map, 1906, sheet 11906Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Belton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s12 items
Belton- Belton Square1908Belton- Belton SquarePostcardBelton - "The Shaddows"c. 1909Belton - "The Shaddows"PostcardBelton - Belton Cotton Mill, 1900sc. 1909Belton - Belton Cotton Mill, 1900sPostcardBelton - View looking north from Post Officec. 1912Belton - View looking north from Post OfficePostcardSome of the youngsters in the Belton Mfg. Co. Two of the youngest. Belton, S.C1912Some of the youngsters in the Belton Mfg. Co. Two of …Some of the youngsters in the Belton Mfg. Co. Two of the youngest. Belton, S.C1912Some of the youngsters in the Belton Mfg. Co. Two of …The Wilson twins going to work. Location: Belton, South Carolina1912The Wilson twins going to work. Location: Belton, Sou…One of the youngest workers going in at 5:30 A.M. Belton Mfg. Co1912One of the youngest workers going in at 5:30 A.M. Bel…Monroe James, 12 Stringes St. Age doubtful. Works in the Belton S.C. Mill. Location: Belton, South Carolina1912Monroe James, 12 Stringes St. Age doubtful. Works in …Frank Hopkins been sweeping at Belton Mfg. Co. 3 months 50 cents a day. Location: Belton, South Carolina1912Frank Hopkins been sweeping at Belton Mfg. Co. 3 mont…Some of the youngsters working1912Some of the youngsters workingSome of the youngsters working1912Some of the youngsters working
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
The story

How Belton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belton.

Read it all →

In 1845 a group was created to connect the Piedmont region of South Carolina by rail to the existing rail system which then ran from Columbia to Charleston. The expanded rail line ran through what was to become Belton, with a spur line which ran to the nearby town of Anderson. Because of the population explosion that occurred by the time the railroad had been completed in 1853, the state incorporated the town in 1855, with the boundaries being located within a half mile radius from the new railroad depot.

The city was given the name of Belton after the first president of the Columbia and Greenville Railroad from Newberry, John Belton O'Neal.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belton, 1851 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Belton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Born hereRoy Mahaffey is born here
  5. 1908In the archiveBelton- Belton Square
  6. 1912In the archiveBelton - View looking north from Post Office
  7. 1944Born hereLeola C. Robinson-Simpson is born here
  8. 1948Born hereWilliam L. Ball is born here
  9. 1983On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Belton on the map, 1983 to 1991

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

Belton on the 1983 USGS mapBelton on the 1991 USGS map1983Belton East sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Belton- Belton Square
Retake this viewBelton- Belton Square, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Belton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Belton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Belton Depot
Belton DepotChamberlain-Kay HouseBelton Standpipe
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Belton DepotBuilding
Chamberlain-Kay HouseVernacular
Belton StandpipeStructure

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Belton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,312

Between 314 and 5,312 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Belton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William L. BallAmerican government official · b. 1948
L
Leola C. Robinson-SimpsonAmerican politician · b. 1944
Roy MahaffeyMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1904
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Belton’s post office has been open since 1851.

Gone or out of use
Belton High SchoolschoolBrown Salem Baptist ChurchchurchCentral Grammar Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Belton
BeltonCity of Belton

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

Help out

Finish Belton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBelton- Belton Square: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Belton’s history

What year was Belton founded?

The Belton post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1855.

How does Belton rank for history?

Belton is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #66 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 Belton?

Three places: the Belton Depot (listed 1979), the Chamberlain-Kay House (1980) and the Belton Standpipe (1987).

How old are the homes in Belton?

9% of Belton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (6), the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.