More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #84 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Landrum was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1890.
The Landrum post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Earlesville (1832), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 155 in 18902020 census: 2,481146 years
How historic is Landrum?
C
More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Landrum post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Landrum’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Landrum is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #84 of 169 in South Carolina. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Landrum’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 Landrum’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Landrum’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Landrum area was settled circa 1760 by homesteaders from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. There, they built a fort approximately two miles from the current City of Landrum. The town of Landrum was founded in 1880 after the railroad was extended north from Spartanburg and named after John Gill Landrum, who gave the land for construction of the local depot. Landrum was incorporated as a town three years later. In 1973, it was made into a city.
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.
The Landrum post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Landrum rank for history?
Landrum is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #84 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.
How old are the homes in Landrum?
10% of Landrum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (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) 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.
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2019
2014
