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C−History
History · Cayce

Cayce’s post office opened in 1902, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #106 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Cayce was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1920.

1902first post office
3on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cayce began

When was Cayce founded?

1902

The Cayce post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Granby (1808), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 746 in 19202020 census: 13,781124 years

How historic is Cayce?

C−

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Cayce’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cayce is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #106 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cayce’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.8% of homes (±0.9) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register3 listings, 2.2 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 38%

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 Cayce’s 2.2 sits near the middle of its state (51% 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Cayce’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 Cayce are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Cayce, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cayce’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cayce’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Cayce had its own post office from 1902 to 1979. Another post office, Granby, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Granby
1808–1821
Cayce
1902–1979
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EdenwoodKinslerRiver Bluff EstatesShadblowWestwood
Gone or out of use
Cayce QuarryminePisgah Cemeteryschool
1cemetery inside Cayce
Pisgah

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

The story

How Cayce came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cayce.

Read it all →

What was to become Cayce was home to Native Americans for at least 12,000 years. This includes what are now known as the Manning Archeological Site, the SAM Site, and the Taylor Site.

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the area in 1540, encountering a large native village at Congaree Creek, where Cayce now stands. Near the end of the 17th century, explorer John Lawson visited and documented his trip. In 1718, during the colonial period, the English built the first permanent fort, the first structure built in the Midlands. A second fort was built on the river in 1748. These were referred to as Congaree Fort #1 and Congaree Fort #2, and became part of the Congarees Site in 1974.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cayce, 1808 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1808Post officeThe Granby post office opens
  3. 1821Post officeThe Granby post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Cayce post office opens
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1979Post officeThe Cayce post office closes
By decade

Cayce, decade by decade

Today23 recent
Site of the Cayce Train Collision - May 18, 20252025Site of the Cayce Train Collision - May 18, 2025Walking trail in2020Walking trail inExhibit of the Cayce Historical Museum2020Exhibit of the Cayce Historical MuseumCorn field in2020Corn field inCayce, SC2020Cayce, SCCayce, SC Knox Abbot Road2020Cayce, SC Knox Abbot RoadCayce, SC City Hall2020Cayce, SC City HallNorth view of accident scene (edit)2019North view of accident scene (edit)CSX AC44 leading the Silver Star, June 20192019CSX AC44 leading the Silver Star, June 2019North End of CSXT Cayce Yard2018North End of CSXT Cayce YardNS P75 8-28-18 - Flickr - Reginald T. McDowell Sr2018NS P75 8-28-18 - Flickr - Reginald T. McDowell SrCSXT Cayce Yard 8-28-18 - Flickr - Reginald T. McDowell Sr2018CSXT Cayce Yard 8-28-18 - Flickr - Reginald T. McDowe…CSX Q211 Cayce, SC 1-18-182018CSX Q211 Cayce, SC 1-18-18William J Cayce House2012William J Cayce HouseStill Hopes2012Still HopesKmart Cayce-Columbia, SC2012Kmart Cayce-Columbia, SCGuignard Brick Works2012Guignard Brick WorksGuignard Brick Works - kilns2012Guignard Brick Works - kilnsRiverwalk - panoramio - Jose M Vidal2008Riverwalk - panoramio - Jose M VidalCayce, SC, USA2008Cayce, SC, USABathroom tile2008Bathroom tileRiverwalk map2008Riverwalk mapMapSCMap-doton-Cayce2004SCMap-doton-Cayce
On the map

Cayce on the map, 1944 to 1982

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

Cayce on the 1944 USGS mapCayce on the 1972 USGS mapCayce on the 1982 USGS map1944Edmund 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 Cayce.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Cayce

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
1975
William J. Cayce House
William J. Cayce HouseGuignard Brick WorksProfessional Building
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
William J. Cayce HouseClassical Revival
Guignard Brick WorksDistrict
All 3 listings
Professional BuildingBuilding · listed 2025

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

People over time

Cayce, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00019201940196019802000202013,781

Grew from 746 people in 1920 to 13,781 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

ArthurtownIts storyD−West Columbia5 historic placesC+Columbia148 historic placesA−SpringdaleIts storyD−Olympia4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine RidgeIts storyD

Questions about Cayce’s history

What year was Cayce founded?

The Cayce post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cayce rank for history?

Cayce is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #106 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 Cayce?

Three places: the William J. Cayce House (listed 1975), the Guignard Brick Works (1995) and the Professional Building (2025).

How old are the homes in Cayce?

2% of Cayce’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (23), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.