History · Dentsville

Dentsville’s post office opened in 1901

More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #146 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Dentsville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 2000.

1901first post office

0on the National Register

2%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Dentsville began

When was Dentsville founded?

1901

The Dentsville post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Edgewold (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 13,009 in 20002020 census: 14,431125 years

How historic is Dentsville?

More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Dentsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Dentsville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dentsville is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #146 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dentsville’s overall grade.

Founding era1901, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsD Homes built before 19402.1% of homes (±1.3) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C⁻National RegisterNo listings counted · typical SC town 3.2 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 8%

NewerOlder

South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 14%

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 Dentsville’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 (±1.3 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 Dentsville’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 Dentsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Dentsville, and 12 old place names are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dentsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dentsville’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 and places now gone

Dentsville had its own post office from 1901 to 1918. Another post office, Edgewold, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dentsville

1901–1918

Edgewold

1901–1941

19001960today

Hamlets and corners on the map

BriarwoodEast Lake HillsEdinburghForestwood EstatesJiggsRichlandSpringhillSpringwoodWeddellWedgewoodWindsor EstatesWindsor Lake Park

Gone or out of use

Jackson Creek SchoolschoolSilver Dune Schoolschool

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

The story so far

Dentsville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dentsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Dentsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 14,062 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1901. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 14,062 to 14,431 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Dentsville, 1901 to 1941

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

20th century
1901Post officeThe Dentsville post office opens
1901Post officeThe Edgewold post office opens
1918Post officeThe Dentsville post office closes
1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1941Post officeThe Edgewold post office closes

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.

Add from your album

On the map

Dentsville on the map, 1935 to 1990

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

1935Killian 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 Dentsville.

People over time

Dentsville, census by census

Between 13,009 and 14,431 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Dentsville

Nobody well known was born in Dentsville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Stanley DonenAmerican film director and choreographer · b. 1924

Charles Bolden23rd Administrator of NASA and astronaut · b. 1946

Aziz AnsariAmerican actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter… · b. 1983

Angie StoneAmerican singer and actress · b. 1961

Teyonah ParrisAmerican actress · b. 1987

Jermaine O'NealAmerican basketball player · b. 1978

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Columbia148 historic placesA⁻Forest AcresIts storyD WoodfieldIts storyD Arcadia LakesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dentsville’s history

What year was Dentsville founded?

The Dentsville post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dentsville rank for history?

Dentsville is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #146 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 Dentsville?

2% of Dentsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 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.

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