Clemson University dates to 1889, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #80 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Clemson University was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1961. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Fort Hill, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 11 buildings between them. Below: 24 old photos and papers and maps from 1951 on.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clemson University’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clemson University is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #80 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clemson University’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 Clemson University’s 22.8 sits above most of its state (73% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1889.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±37.0 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Clemson University’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Thomas Green Clemson, the university's founder, came to the foothills of South Carolina in 1838, when he married Anna Maria Calhoun, daughter of John C. Calhoun, the South Carolina politician and seventh U.S. Vice President. Through the Calhoun family, Clemson became an owner of enslaved persons on the family plantation that was to become the heart of the future university. When Clemson died on April 6, 1888, he bequeathed the Fort Hill plantation and most of his estate, which he inherited from his wife, in his will to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians. His decision was largely influenced by the future South Carolina Governor Benjamin Tillman. Tillman lobbied the South Carolina General Assembly to create the school as an agricultural institution for the state, and the resolution passed by only one vote.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clemson University. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Clemson 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 Clemson University.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view1893 Clemson College prospectus, 1893
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clemson University’s page.
In 1889, according to Wikidata. Clemson University’s post office opened in 1893.
How does Clemson University rank for history?
Clemson University is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #80 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 Clemson University?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Fort Hill (a National Historic Landmark since 1960), and 2 historic districts, the Clemson University Historic District I and the Clemson University Historic District II, with 11 contributing buildings. 16 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Clemson University?
0.0% of Clemson University’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±37.0 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (24), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
1893
1896
1896
1896
1896
1898
1898
1908
c. 1909
1910
1912
1912
1917
c. 1920
c. 1940
c. 1940
c. 1943
c. 1945
c. 1945
c. 1947
1949
1949
c. 1955
1956
★ Landmark
