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History · McBee

McBee’s post office opened in 1900, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of McBee was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listing is the Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot in McBee. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Quick answers

How McBee began

When was McBee founded?

1900

The McBee post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901.

First census: 187 in 19102020 census: 758126 years
Founding year: the first McBee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓

What stands out about McBee’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of McBee are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McBee’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How McBee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McBee.

Read it all →

McBee was named after a railroad executive, V.E. "Bunch" McBee, born July 26, 1849, in Greenville County, South Carolina. Bunch McBee was one of South Carolina's leading forces in the building of railroads, was responsible for the Columbia to Hamlet, North Carolina, line, which runs through McBee, and was at one time superintendent of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.

In 1900, McBee's first railroad depot was built. About one year later on October 8, 1901, McBee was incorporated. On June 30, 1901, McBee Presbyterian Church was built, the first church in McBee. Six years later in 1907 McBee's second church, McBee Methodist Church, was built.

ChaptersOrigin20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McBee, 1900 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Mc Bee post office opens
  3. 1929Born hereDon King is born here
  4. 1929Born hereNoah O. Knight is born here
  5. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

McBee, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Mcbee-depot2013Mcbee-depotSeaboard Air Line Railway Depot in2012Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot inMcBee P2011McBee PMcBee History2011McBee HistoryMcBee High2011McBee HighMcBee Ele2011McBee EleSCMap-doton-McBee2004SCMap-doton-McBee
On the map

McBee on the map, 1970 to 1986

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

McBee on the 1970 USGS mapMcBee on the 1986 USGS map1970Bethune 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 McBee.

On the National Register

1 historic place in McBee

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot in McBee
Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot in McBee
Buildings
Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot in McBeeBuilding

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

People over time

McBee, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 867

Between 187 and 867 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in McBee

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

See all →
D
Don KingAmerican football player · b. 1929
Noah O. KnightUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1929

Questions about McBee’s history

What year was McBee founded?

The McBee post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.

What is on the National Register in McBee?

One place: the Seaboard Air Line Railway Depot in McBee (listed 1999).

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 (7), 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) 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.