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C+History
History · Blackville

Blackville’s post office opened in 1834

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Blackville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1880.

1834first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Blackville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blackville began

When was Blackville founded?

1834

The Blackville post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Clinton (1833), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 684 in 18802020 census: 1,923192 years

How historic is Blackville?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Blackville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blackville is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blackville’s overall grade.
Founding era1834, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.7% of homes (±4.7) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical SC town 3.2 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder

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 Blackville’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 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.

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 Blackville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1922, drew every building in Blackville.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,973 in 2000; 1,923 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blackville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blackville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBlackville train depot (1912): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Then & now

The same spot, 97 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Ruins of the 1912 Shamrock HotelBlackville - Shamrock Hotelc. 19202017
Blackville - Shamrock HotelMatched from the two captions
Every building

Blackville, building by building, 1890–1922

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.

Blackville fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 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.

The story

How Blackville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blackville.

Read it all →

On December 22, 1781, a band of British Loyalists fought with a group of local Patriots two miles north of Blackville. The location, called Windy Hill at that time, is slightly east of the present-day Healing Springs Park and Church. The commanding officer was Captain Benjamin Odom, Jr. who was a member of Colonel William Harden's regiment. Sixteen Patriots were killed. Major “Bloody Bill” Cunningham was believed to be the commander of the Tory company. The area was known for many years as "Slaughter Hill".

Longtime state representative Solomon Blatt, Sr. was born in Blackville.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blackville, 1833 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Clinton post office opens
  3. 1834Post officeThe Clinton post office closes
  4. 1834Post officeThe Blackville post office opens
  5. 1895Born hereSolomon Blatt, Sr. is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1912In the archiveBlackville train depot (1912)
  8. 1920In the archiveBlackville - Shamrock Hotel
  9. 1926Born hereJ. B. Hutto is born here
  10. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1946Born hereMarvin Sease is born here
  12. 1984Born hereBrandon Isaac is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 2,973
By decade

Blackville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s4 items
Blackville train depot (1912)1912Blackville train depot (1912)Blackville1912BlackvilleBlackville Catholic Church 19131913Blackville Catholic Church 1913Blackville - Shamrock Hotelc. 1920Blackville - Shamrock Hotel
1930s–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
Today7 recent
The public library of Blackville, South Carolina, housed in the town's former train depot2017The public library of Blackville, South Carolina, hou…Ruins of the 1912 Shamrock Hotel2017Ruins of the 1912 Shamrock HotelGod's Acre Healing Springs2016God's Acre Healing SpringsGod's Acre Healing Springs Signage2016God's Acre Healing Springs SignageBlackvilleSignSC2011BlackvilleSignSCBlackvilleClockSC2011BlackvilleClockSCSCMap-doton-Blackville2004SCMap-doton-Blackville
On the map

Blackville on the map, 1927 to 1979

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

Blackville on the 1927 USGS mapBlackville on the 1943 USGS mapBlackville on the 1979 USGS map1927Williston 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 Blackville.

People over time

Blackville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,973

Peaked at 2,973 in 2000; 1,923 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Blackville

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

See all →
J. B. HuttoAmerican blues musician · b. 1926
M
Marvin SeaseAmerican singer · b. 1946
Brandon IsaacAmerican player of Canadian football · b. 1984
Solomon Blatt, Sr.American politician · b. 1895
D
Daniel I. Ross, Jr.American political party chair · b. 1923
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Blackville’s post office has been open since 1834. Another post office, Clinton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clinton
1833–1834
Blackville
1834–today
18301930today
Gone or out of use
Blackville ChurchchurchBlackville Schoolschool

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

Questions about Blackville’s history

What year was Blackville founded?

The Blackville post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Blackville rank for history?

Blackville is more historic than 40% 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 Blackville?

6% of Blackville’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 1977.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), 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.