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B+History
History · Lancaster

10% of Lancaster’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #37 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and two historic districts with 17 buildings between them. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.

9on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
16old photos & papers
33famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lancaster’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Lancaster’s history

How historic is Lancaster?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lancaster’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lancaster is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #37 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lancaster’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194010.4% of homes (±3.5) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register9 listings, 24 historic buildings, 26.9 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 79%

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 Lancaster’s 26.9 sits above most of its state (73% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Lancaster’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark9 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1924, drew every building in Lancaster.A town in old photos16 old photos, postcards and papers.Famous sons and daughtersNina Mae McKinney, Jim Hodges and 31 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

9 historic places in Lancaster

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
2
Lancaster County Courthouse
historic buildings protected
24
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Lancaster County Courthouse
Lancaster Presbyterian ChurchLancaster Downtown Historic DistrictLeroy Springs HouseRobert Barnwell Allison HouseLancaster Cotton Oil CompanyCraig HouseEllen Dean HotelLancaster County Courthouse, built 1828★Lancaster County Jail, built 1823★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Palladian1
Early Gothic Revival1
McMichael, James M.1
Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Industrial1
★ Landmark
Lancaster County CourthouseBuilt 1828
★ Landmark
Lancaster County JailPalladian · Built 1823
Lancaster Presbyterian ChurchEarly Gothic Revival
Lancaster Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict
Leroy Springs HouseMcMichael, James M.
Robert Barnwell Allison HouseLate Victorian
Lancaster Cotton Oil CompanyIndustrial
Craig HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
All 9 listings
Ellen Dean HotelBuilding · listed 2022

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Lancaster, building by building, 1884–1924

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.

Lancaster fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 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.

By decade

Lancaster, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s16 items
This is where the mill children live. Compare photo 342. Lancaster, S.C. LOC nclc.014341901This is where the mill children live. Compare photo 3…This is where the mill children live. Compare photo 342. Lancaster, S.C. Location: Lancaster, South Carolina1901This is where the mill children live. Compare photo 3…A typical Spinner Lancaster Cotton Mills, S.C. LOC cph.3a202801908A typical Spinner Lancaster Cotton Mills, S.C. LOC cp…A typical spinner. Mamie ----- Lancaster Cotton Mills, S.C. LOC nclc.053811908A typical spinner. Mamie ----- Lancaster Cotton Mills…Group of boys working in Lancaster S.C. Cotton mills. Smallest boy said he had worked in the mill off and on for five y…1908Group of boys working in Lancaster S.C. Cotton mills.…Group of employees in Lancaster (S.C.) Cotton Mills. LOC nclc.014281908Group of employees in Lancaster (S.C.) Cotton Mills. …Hattie Hunter, spinner in the Lancaster Cotton Mills. 52 inches high. Worked in mill for three years. Gets 50 [cents] a…1908Hattie Hunter, spinner in the Lancaster Cotton Mills.…John Ghent has worked at spinning for 1 year. Goes to school now. Been Sick. Lancaster, S.C. Cotton Mills. LOC nclc.014…1908John Ghent has worked at spinning for 1 year. Goes to…Lancaster (S.C.) Cotton Mills, Wesley Strand (with gun). Has been in mill 1 year. Been sick lately. Rochel Stokes. In m…1908Lancaster (S.C.) Cotton Mills, Wesley Strand (with gu…One of the little spinners working in Lancaster Cotton Mills, S.C. Many others as small. LOC cph.3a497031908One of the little spinners working in Lancaster Cotto…The Lancaster Cotton Mills S.C. One of the worst places I have found for child labor. LOC nclc.014451908The Lancaster Cotton Mills S.C. One of the worst plac…This is where the mill children go to school. Lancaster, S.C. Enrollment 163- attendance, usually about 100. There are …1908This is where the mill children go to school. Lancast…This where the President of the Lancaster S.C. Cotton Mills lives. LOC nclc.014351908This where the President of the Lancaster S.C. Cotton…Noon hour1908Noon hourSpinner1908SpinnerA typical Spinner Lancaster Cotton Mills, S.C. Location: Lancaster, South Carolina1908A typical Spinner Lancaster Cotton Mills, S.C. Locati…
1910s–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 album
The story

How Lancaster came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lancaster.

Read it all →

The following are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lancaster, 1797 to 1994

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1797Post officeThe Lancaster post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1823BuiltLancaster County Jail is built
  5. 1828BuiltLancaster County Courthouse is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901In the archiveThis is where the mill children live. Compare photo 342. Lancaster, S.C. LOC nclc.01434
  8. 1912Born hereNina Mae McKinney is born here
  9. 1956Born hereJim Hodges is born here
  10. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1973LandmarkLancaster County Courthouse named a National Historic Landmark
  12. 1973LandmarkLancaster County Jail named a National Historic Landmark
  13. 1979Born hereJulie Roberts is born here
  14. 1994Born hereSindarius Thornwell is born here
On the map

Lancaster on the map in 1969

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lancaster.

Lancaster on the 1969 USGS map1969Lancaster 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 Lancaster.

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.

This is where the mill children live. Compare photo 342. Lancaster, S.C. LOC nclc.01434
Retake this viewThis is where the mill children live. Compare photo 342. Lancaster, S.C. LOC nclc.01434, 1901

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lancaster, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001850190019502000Peak: 9,703

Between 376 and 9,703 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

33 famous people were born in Lancaster

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Nina Mae McKinneyAmerican actress · b. 1912
J
Jim Hodges114th Governor of South Carolina · b. 1956
Julie RobertsAmerican country music singer · b. 1979
Sindarius ThornwellAmerican basketball player · b. 1994
John McClannahan CrockettAmerican mayor · b. 1816
Sheldon BrownPlayer of American football · b. 1979
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Lancaster’s post office has been open since 1797.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gregwood
Gone or out of use
Church of GodchurchFranklin AcademyschoolSaint Paul African Methodist Episcopal ChurchchurchWashington Baptist ChurchchurchZion African Methodist Episcopal Churchchurch
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lancaster
Clinton MemorialOld PresbyterianWest Side

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Lancaster’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThis is where the mill children live. C…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

SpringdaleIts storyD

Questions about Lancaster’s history

How does Lancaster rank for history?

Lancaster is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #37 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 Lancaster?

9 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 7 buildings, among them the Lancaster County Courthouse (a National Historic Landmark since 1973), and 2 historic districts, the Lancaster Downtown Historic District and the Lancaster Cotton Oil Company, with 17 contributing buildings. 24 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lancaster?

10% of Lancaster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1972.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.