Most of Hamer was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Its Register listing is the Hamer Hall. Below: maps from 1960 on.
The Hamer post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Kentyre (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 820134 years
How historic is Hamer?
C
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hamer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Hamer’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamer is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hamer’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 Hamer’s 38.4 sits above most of its state (76% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 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 Hamer’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hamer yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hamer is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Dillon County, South Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 820. Hamer is home to Hamer Hall, a residence from 1890 listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also the location of South of the Border, a famed tourist trap just before the state line with North Carolina; and it is the home of Blenheim Ginger Ale.
Its first post office opened in 1892.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Hamer, 1877 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Hamer’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Kentyre, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Kentyre
1877–1900
Hamer
1892–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Five ForksKentyre
Gone or out of use
Hamer Presbyterian Churchchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hamer
EvergreenHamilton
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Hamer’s history
What year was Hamer founded?
The Hamer post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hamer rank for history?
Hamer is more historic than 30% 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 Hamer?
One place: the Hamer Hall (listed 1975).
How old are the homes in Hamer?
0.0% of Hamer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
