2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Graniteville Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 40 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1909 on.
Founding year: the first Graniteville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Graniteville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Graniteville is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Graniteville’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 Graniteville’s 195 sits above most of its state (91% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 40 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
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 (±5.6 points). 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 Graniteville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Graniteville dates back to 1845 when William Gregg built the South's first large-scale cotton mill in what became known as Graniteville. His paternalistic mill town included 90 homes, several boarding houses, six stores, two churches, and a school for the mill workers and their families. The community got its name because most of those original buildings were constructed of blue granite. Gregg required the children of mill workers to attend the public school he instituted, and violators were fined. As such, Graniteville holds the distinction of having the first compulsory education system in the Southern United States.
The Graniteville Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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.
The Graniteville post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Graniteville rank for history?
Graniteville is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. 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 Graniteville?
Two places: the Graniteville Historic District (listed 1978) and the Hickman Mill Historic District (2016).
How old are the homes in Graniteville?
14% of Graniteville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
★ Landmark
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