Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Blacksburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blacksburg is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blacksburg’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 Blacksburg’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina 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 C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1888.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Blacksburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Blacksburg’s post office has been open since 1889. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Pine Grove
1874–1900
Black's Station
1875–1887
Black's
1887–1889
Blacksburg
1889–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Glenwood Estates
Gone or out of use
Alberts Chapel African Methodist Episcopal ChurchchurchBlacksburg Presbyterian ChurchchurchIngram Presbyterian ChurchchurchMassadonia Baptist ChurchchurchTrinity African Methodist Episcopal Zion Churchchurch
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Blacksburg
BlacksburgDivine True HolinessMountain ViewPine Grove Baptist Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Blacksburg, building by building, 1896–1908
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.
1896Sheet 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.
Located near the northern border of the state, the present-day site of Blacksburg was first settled by a man named Stark. Mr. Stark, who had lived in Charleston, South Carolina prior to moving to the area, had gotten several people to come along with him on an agriculture venture, but this venture would fail. Those who stayed behind named the area "Stark's Folly".
In 1888, according to Wikidata. Blacksburg’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1880 counted 145 people here.
How does Blacksburg rank for history?
Blacksburg is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns. 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 Blacksburg?
13% of Blacksburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (1), 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.
2006
