2 of Clemson’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #88 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Old Stone Church and Cemetery and the J.C. Stribling Barn. Most of Clemson was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Its Register listings are the Old Stone Church and Cemetery and the J.C. Stribling Barn. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1940.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clemson is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #88 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’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’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (47% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
European Americans settled here after the Cherokee were forced to cede their land in 1819. They had lived at Keowee, and six other towns along the Keowee River as part of their traditional homelands in the Southeast. They migrated and settled in Tennessee and deeper into Georgia and Alabama, before most were subjected to forced Indian Removal in 1839 to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).
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.
Clemson is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #88 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?
Two places: the Old Stone Church and Cemetery (listed 1971) and the J.C. Stribling Barn (2001).
How old are the homes in Clemson?
1% of Clemson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
1942
c. 1972
