Lyman’s post office opened in 1924, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #76 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Its Register listings are the McMakin's Tavern and the Augustus Belton and Margaret Wheeler Groce House. Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Lyman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lyman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lyman is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #76 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lyman’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 Lyman’s 6.1 sits near the middle of its state (57% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 Lyman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Lyman originally grew around a general store owned by Augustus Belton Groce, which opened in the mid-1870s. This led to the community becoming known as Groce's Stop. In 1923, the Groce family sold over 700 acres (280 ha) to Pacific Mills. By the following year the Lyman Printing and Finishing Mill had been constructed, and by 1927, Pacific Mills had built 375 homes as housing for their employees. The town was then renamed in memory of Arthur T. Lyman, a former president of the mill. Lyman prospered for years as a textile town, but by 2005 the last mill was closed.
The Lyman post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lyman rank for history?
Lyman is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #76 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 Lyman?
Two places: the McMakin's Tavern (listed 1974) and the Augustus Belton and Margaret Wheeler Groce House (2024).
How old are the homes in Lyman?
13% of Lyman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 2010.
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), 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.
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