On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnston is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Johnston’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 Johnston’s 596 sits above most of its state (98% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 127 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.7 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 Johnston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Johnston is called The Hub of the Ridge because it is located at the meeting place of the three river systems which flow away from the Ridge, a fertile plateau about 30 miles (48 km) long between clay hills to the north and sand hills to the south. The area has been settled since the mid-1700s. In 1791 as George Washington traveled through the area on his triumphal tour through the country, he stopped at the Lott family plantation, just east of Johnston.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Johnston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Johnston 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 Johnston.
Every building
Johnston, building by building, 1903–1913
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.
1903Sheet 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.
Famous people
4 famous people were born in Johnston
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Johnston’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Lott's, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lott's
1839–1870
Johnston
1881–today
18301930today
Gone or out of use
Edgefield County Training SchoolschoolJohnston High Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Johnston
Mount NeboMount of Olives
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Johnston’s history
What year was Johnston founded?
The Johnston post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Johnston rank for history?
Johnston is more historic than 74% 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 Johnston?
One place: the Johnston Historic District (listed 1983).
How old are the homes in Johnston?
15% of Johnston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.7 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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