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History · Carlisle

Carlisle’s post office opened in 1891, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Carlisle was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the Hillside. Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1900.

1891first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Carlisle began

When was Carlisle founded?

1891

The Carlisle post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fishdam (1827), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 358 in 19002020 census: 321135 years
Founding year: the first Carlisle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Carlisle’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 Carlisle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 670 in 1970; 321 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Carlisle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Carlisle’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

Carlisle, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 670

Peaked at 670 in 1970; 321 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Carlisle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carlisle.

Read it all →

The community was named after Coleman Carlisle, a Methodist minister.

Hillside and Woodland Plantation are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carlisle, 1827 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Post officeThe Fishdam post office opens
  3. 1891Post officeThe Fishdam post office closes
  4. 1891Post officeThe Carlisle post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1969Born hereSebastian Savage is born here
  7. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 670
By decade

Carlisle, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Carlisle, SC Post Office2022Carlisle, SC Post OfficeCarlisle SC Highways2013Carlisle SC HighwaysWoodland Plantation2012Woodland PlantationHillside2012HillsideSCMap-doton-Carlisle2004SCMap-doton-Carlisle
On the map

Carlisle on the map, 1969 to 1986

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

Carlisle on the 1969 USGS mapCarlisle on the 1986 USGS map1969Carlisle 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 Carlisle.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Carlisle

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Hillside
Hillside
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
HillsideFederal

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Carlisle’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Fishdam, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fishdam
1827–1891
Carlisle
1891–today
18201920today
1cemetery inside Carlisle
Hill

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

Questions about Carlisle’s history

What year was Carlisle founded?

The Carlisle post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Carlisle?

One place: the Hillside (listed 1978).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (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) 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.