More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #139 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Clearwater was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Clearwater post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Clearwater’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clearwater is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #139 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clearwater’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 Clearwater’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 D− to D. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 Clearwater’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Clearwater’s post office has been open since 1901.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Augusta View HeightsCrestdaleLakewoodWillow Springs ParkWoodridge
Gone or out of use
Clearwater SchoolschoolLevingsworths Milllocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Clearwater, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clearwater yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Clearwater is a census-designated place (CDP) in Aiken County, South Carolina. It lies near North Augusta, South Carolina, and is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. Clearwater is located in historic Horse Creek Valley. The population was 4,370 at the time of the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1901. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,370 to 4,079 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Clearwater post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clearwater rank for history?
Clearwater is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #139 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.
How old are the homes in Clearwater?
3% of Clearwater’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 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.
