Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Central

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
B−History
History · Central

Central dates to 1873, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #61 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Central was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Its Register listings are the Central High School, the Morgan House and the Central Roller Mills. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1873founded
3on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Central began

When was Central founded?

1873

Central dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 184 in 18802020 census: 5,247153 years

How historic is Central?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Central’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Central is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #61 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Central’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.6% of homes (±4.9) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 7 historic buildings, 13.2 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 64%

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 Central’s 13.2 sits above most of its state (67% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±4.9 points). Two sources give 1873.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Central’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 Central are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Central’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Central’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
The story

How Central came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Central.

Read it all →

Central was founded by the Atlanta and Richmond Air Line Railway in a railroad boom that began in 1873. The town's name represents the fact that it is midway between Atlanta and Charlotte. Central was incorporated as a town on March 17, 1875.

In 1897, Southern Railway moved its headquarters from Central to Greenville; trains no longer stopped to change engines, and soon all shops and offices were closed. The establishment of Issaqueena Mill and, in 1906, Wesleyan Methodist Bible Institute (now Southern Wesleyan University) brought people back to the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Central, 1873 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873
    FoundingCentral is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Central post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1964Born hereDarline Graham is born here
  7. 1992Born hereDeShawn Williams is born here
  8. 1994Born hereShaq Lawson is born here
By decade

Central, decade by decade

Today2 recent
CentralSCMon2016CentralSCMonSCMap-doton-Central2004SCMap-doton-Central
On the map

Central on the map, 1951 to 1980

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

Central on the 1951 USGS mapCentral on the 1980 USGS map1951Clemson 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 Central.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Central

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Central High School
Central High SchoolMorgan HouseCentral Roller Mills
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival2
Queen Anne1
Central High SchoolClassical Revival
Morgan HouseQueen Anne
Central Roller MillsBuilding

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

People over time

Central, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,500188019001920194019601980200020205,247

Grew from 184 people in 1880 to 5,247 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Central

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

See all →
Darline GrahamAmerican politician · b. 1964
DeShawn WilliamsAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1992
Shaq LawsonAmerican football player · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Central’s post office has been open since 1879.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BrookwoodIsaqueena VillageKelcar Acres
1cemetery inside Central
Mount Zion

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Clemson2 historic placesC

Questions about Central’s history

What year was Central founded?

In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Central’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1880 counted 184 people here.

How does Central rank for history?

Central is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #61 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 Central?

Three places: the Central High School (listed 1994), the Morgan House (2001) and the Central Roller Mills (2013).

How old are the homes in Central?

9% of Central’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.