The story
Read it all →How Holly Hill came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Holly Hill.
Dantzler Plantation and Providence Methodist Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Holly Hill
Holly Hill’s post office opened in 1848, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Holly Hill was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 39 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1890.
1848first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Quick answers
How Holly Hill began
When was Holly Hill founded?
1848
The Holly Hill post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 814 in 18902020 census: 1,298178 years
How historic is Holly Hill?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Holly Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Holly Hill’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holly Hill is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holly Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.9% of homes (±4.3) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 39 historic buildings, 320 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
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 Holly Hill’s 320 sits above most of its state (96% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 39 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 (±4.3 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 Holly Hill’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 5-fold.A historic districtThe Holly Hill Downtown Historic District takes in 27 historic buildings.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1979. Watch Holly Hill change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Holly Hill’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Holly Hill’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Holly Hill, census by census
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 5-fold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Holly Hill’s Wikipedia page.
On the National Register
2 listings protect 39 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
39
each building in a district counts
first listed
2019
McCoy Farmstead
Districts
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Timeline
Holly Hill, 1848 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1848Post officeThe Holly Hill post office opens
- 1875BuiltMcCoy Farmstead is built
- 20th century
- 1921
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1936Born hereJimmie Coker is born here
- 1954
Born hereWillie Randolph is born here - 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,785
- 1983
Born hereBrett Gardner is born here - 1986
In the archiveGilmore-House - Painting by Rene Pendarvis Scanlon commissioned by Hayward Thompson and h… - 1996Born hereAlex Brown is born here
By decade
Holly Hill, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your albumDate unknown1 to date
Date?
2015
2015
2015
2004On the map
Holly Hill on the map, 1921 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Holly Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Eutawville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Holly Hill.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewGilmore-House - Painting by Rene Pendarvis Scanlon commissioned by Hayward Thompson and hung over the mantle until its …, 1986
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Holly Hill’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →6 famous people were born in Holly Hill
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Holly Hill’s post office has been open since 1848.
Gone or out of use
Holly Hill Roberts High Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Holly Hill
Holly
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Holly Hill’s history
What year was Holly Hill founded?
The Holly Hill post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Holly Hill rank for history?
Holly Hill is more historic than 79% 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 Holly Hill?
Two places: the McCoy Farmstead (listed 2019) and the Holly Hill Downtown Historic District (2024).
How old are the homes in Holly Hill?
7% of Holly Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1975.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.