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History · Jamestown

Jamestown’s post office opened in 1923, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1960.

1923first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Jamestown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Jamestown began

When was Jamestown founded?

1923

The Jamestown post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 184 in 19602020 census: 68103 years
Founding year: the first Jamestown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Jamestown’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jamestown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jamestown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPublic Facilities - South Carolina: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Jamestown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jamestown.

Read it all →

Originally settled by Huguenot refugees from France in the 17th century, the area was established as St. James Santee in 1706, the first parish of the Church of England in Carolina outside Charleston.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Jamestown, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Public Facilities - South CarolinaDate?Public Facilities - South Carolina
Today3 recent
Showroom012012Showroom01Jamestown, South Carolina downtown2011Jamestown, South Carolina downtownJamestown, South Carolina Hell Hole Swamp Festival2011Jamestown, South Carolina Hell Hole Swamp Festival
On the map

Jamestown on the map, 1943 to 1986

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

Jamestown on the 1943 USGS mapJamestown on the 1973 USGS mapJamestown on the 1986 USGS map1943Jamestown sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Jamestown.

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.

Public Facilities - South Carolina
Retake this viewPublic Facilities - South Carolina

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Jamestown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Jamestown, census by census

01002001960198020002020Peak: 193

Between 68 and 193 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Jamestown

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

See all →
Joseph L. GoldsteinAmerican biochemist · b. 1940
Madelyn ClineAmerican actress · b. 1997
Melissa Jefferson-WoodenAmerican athlete · b. 2001
Shelby RogersAmerican tennis player · b. 1992
Chuck EidsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1980
A
Anthuan MaybankAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1969

Questions about Jamestown’s history

What year was Jamestown founded?

The Jamestown post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.