Greenwood dates to 1823, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #28 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Greenwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenwood is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #28 of 169 in South Carolina. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenwood’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 Greenwood’s 6.2 sits near the middle of its state (58% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1823.
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 (±3.1 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 Greenwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Alderman SanitariumhospitalBrewer HospitalhospitalCamp McElveerlocaleEast End Graded SchoolschoolGreenwood HospitalhospitalHoliness ChurchchurchMagnolia Street Graded SchoolschoolUnited House of PrayerchurchWesleyan Methodist ChurchchurchWest Side Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Greenwood
EdgewoodHillcrestMagnoliaMathewsMount Tabor ChurchSave All
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Greenwood on the map, 1892 to 1978
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Greenwood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Abbeville sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Greenwood.
Every building
Greenwood, building by building, 1884–1923
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 1823 John McGehee and his wife Charlotte built a summerhouse called "Green Wood" midway between the cities of Abbeville and Cambridge in order to have cleaner air. Nearby, a village named Woodville was formed in 1837 with a post office. By 1850, the village designation was changed to the name Greenwood. The town grew with the first railroad, the Greenville & Columbia Railroad built in 1852. Greenwood was incorporated in 1857.
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 1823, according to Wikidata. Greenwood’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1850 counted 941 people here.
How does Greenwood rank for history?
Greenwood is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #28 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 Greenwood?
12 listings: 9 buildings, among them the J. Wesley Brooks House (listed 1973, the first), 1 historic district, the Greenwood Mill Village Historic District,, and 2 sites. 14 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Greenwood?
15% of Greenwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (12), 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.
1896
1896
1898
c. 1905
c. 1905
1907
1908
c. 1908
1909
