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History · Gifford

Gifford’s post office opened in 1892, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Gifford was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the Gifford Rosenwald School. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1980.

1892first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gifford began

When was Gifford founded?

1892

The Gifford post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 385 in 19802020 census: 257134 years
Founding year: the first Gifford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gifford’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 Gifford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19183 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1988. Watch Gifford change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gifford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gifford’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
On the map

Gifford on the map, 1918 to 1988

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

Gifford on the 1918 USGS mapGifford on the 1944 USGS mapGifford on the 1988 USGS map1918Varnville 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 Gifford.

The story so far

Gifford, in brief

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

Gifford is a town in Hampton County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Gifford had a population of 257.

Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 288 to 257 (-11%).

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

Timeline

Gifford, 1892 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Gifford post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1920BuiltGifford Rosenwald School is built
By decade

Gifford, decade by decade

Today2 recent
1-Front-view-Hampton-SC-GRS20171-Front-view-Hampton-SC-GRSSCMap-doton-Gifford2004SCMap-doton-Gifford
On the National Register

1 historic place in Gifford

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2017
Gifford Rosenwald School
Gifford Rosenwald School, built 1920
Buildings
Gifford Rosenwald SchoolBuilt 1920

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Gifford, census by census

0100200300400198020002020Peak: 385

Between 257 and 385 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gifford

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

See all →
Johnson HagoodConfederate Army general and Governor of South … · b. 1829
E
Eric BucknerAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
Thomas S. McMillanBaseball player and coach, lawyer, politician · b. 1888
Clara G. McMillanAmerican politician · b. 1894
T
Troy BrownAmerican football player and coach · b. 1971
Barry MillerAmerican politician · b. 1864
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gifford’s post office has been open since 1892.

Gone or out of use
Gifford Schoolschool

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

Questions about Gifford’s history

What year was Gifford founded?

The Gifford post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Gifford?

One place: the Gifford Rosenwald School (listed 2017).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.