Georgetown dates to 1729, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #10 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Georgetown was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Joseph H. Rainey House, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 71 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1789.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Georgetown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Georgetown is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #10 of 169 in South Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Georgetown’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 Georgetown’s 88.7 sits above most of its state (83% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 76 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1729.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 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 Georgetown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Georgetown, building by building, 1884–1913
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
In 1526 a Spanish expedition under Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón founded a colony on Waccamaw Neck called San Miguel de Guadalupe. The settlers included enslaved Africans, and was the first European settlement in North America with African slaves. The colony failed for multiple reasons, including a fever epidemic and a revolt of the slaves. The Africans escaped and joined members of the indigenous Cofitachequi chiefdom in the area, people of the late Mississippian culture.
The next settlement in the area was made by English colonists. After settling Charles Town in 1670, the English established trade with regional Indian tribes. Trading posts in outlying areas quickly developed as settlements.
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.
In 1729, according to Wikidata. Georgetown’s post office opened in 1789, and the census of 1850 counted 1,628 people here.
How does Georgetown rank for history?
Georgetown is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #10 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 Georgetown?
8 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Joseph H. Rainey House (a National Historic Landmark since 1984) and the Old Market Building (listed 1969, the first), 2 historic districts, the Georgetown Historic District and the Friendfield Plantation, with 71 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 76 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Georgetown?
9% of Georgetown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1896
c. 1908
1908
c. 1909
1909
1910
c. 1910
1910
c. 1910
c. 1910
c. 1910
c. 1912
1917
1917
1917
