Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bethune

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Bethune

Bethune’s post office opened in 1900, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bethune began

When was Bethune founded?

1900

The Bethune post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lynchwood (1828), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 317 in 19102020 census: 315126 years
Founding year: the first Bethune post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bethune’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 Bethune are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 639 in 1950; 315 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bethune’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bethune’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bethune’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
People over time

Bethune, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 639

Peaked at 639 in 1950; 315 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Bethune came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bethune.

Read it all →

Europeans first moved into the area in the early 1800s, finding members of the Kadapaw tribe living in the area. Originally, the settlers named the town "Lynchwood", and in 1828 they established a post office. After the railroads came to the area, the town was officially chartered in 1900 and the name changed to honor Daniel Murdock Bethune.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bethune, 1828 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Lynchwood post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Lynchwood post office closes
  5. 1900Post officeThe Bethune post office opens
  6. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 639
  7. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bethune, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Bethune Community Park2022Bethune Community ParkBethune SC2021Bethune SCManufacturing Plant2012Manufacturing PlantBethune’s Lynchwood Lodge2012Bethune’s Lynchwood LodgeBethune Water Tower2012Bethune Water TowerSCMap-doton-Bethune2004SCMap-doton-Bethune
On the map

Bethune on the map, 1970 to 1986

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

Bethune on the 1970 USGS mapBethune on the 1986 USGS map1970Bethune 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 Bethune.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bethune’s post office has been open since 1900. Another post office, Lynchwood, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lynchwood
1828–1900
Bethune
1900–today
18201920today

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

Questions about Bethune’s history

What year was Bethune founded?

The Bethune post office opened in 1900, 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 →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.