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AHistory
History · Ninety Six

Ninety Six dates to 1730, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Ninety Six National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.

1730founded
4on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ninety Six’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ninety Six began

When was Ninety Six founded?

1730

Ninety Six dates its founding to 1730 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 468 in 18802020 census: 2,076296 years

How historic is Ninety Six?

A

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ninety Six’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ninety Six is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ninety Six’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194025.5% of homes (±8.9) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 15.9 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
NewerOlder

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 Ninety Six’s 15.9 sits above most of its state (69% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1730.
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 (±8.9 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Ninety Six’s past

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

Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1925, drew every building in Ninety Six.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including Ninety Six National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark.Older than the countryEstablished in 1730, 46 years before the Declaration of Independence.Old housesHalf of Ninety Six’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Every building

Ninety Six, building by building, 1884–1925

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.

Ninety Six 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.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Ninety Six

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Ninety Six National Historic Site
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1969
Ninety Six National Historic Site
Kinard HouseSouthern Railway DepotEdgewood SchoolNinety Six National Historic Site, built 1976★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian Folk1
Neo-Classical Revival1
★ Landmark
Ninety Six National Historic SiteBuilt 1976
Kinard HouseLate Victorian Folk
Southern Railway DepotNeo-Classical Revival
All 4 listings
Edgewood SchoolBuilding · listed 2024

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

Timeline

Ninety Six, 1730 to 1976

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1730
    FoundingNinety Six is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1852Post officeThe Ninety Six post office opens
  5. 1865Born hereElliott Crayton McCants is born here
  6. 1884Born hereGordon B. Hancock is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1906In the archiveNinety Six - Bank
  9. 1910In the archiveNinety Six - The Frazier Hotel
  10. 1917Born hereCal Drummond is born here
  11. 1938Born hereOdean Pope is born here
  12. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1973LandmarkNinety Six National Historic Site named a National Historic Landmark
  14. 1976BuiltNinety Six National Historic Site is built
The story

How Ninety Six came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ninety Six.

Read it all →

Established on the colonial frontier in the early 18th century, Ninety Six soon became a well-known trading post. It was the seat for the Ninety Six District upon its establishment as a town until the district's abolishment in 1799. The town was the site of a siege from May 22 to June 19, 1781 during the Revolutionary War, spanning 28 days. The battlefield is now the Ninety Six National Historic Site, maintained by the National Park Service.

Chapters19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Ninety Six, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s9 items
Ninety Six - Bankc. 1906Ninety Six - BankPostcardNinety Six - Presbyterian Churchc. 1907Ninety Six - Presbyterian ChurchPostcardSouth Carolina - Cotton season in1908South Carolina - Cotton season inPostcardNinety Six - The Frazier Hotel1910Ninety Six - The Frazier HotelPostcardNinety Six - West end of Main Streetc. 1910Ninety Six - West end of Main StreetPostcardOil Mill - South Carolina1910Oil Mill - South CarolinaPostcardT.C. Anderson House, Ninety-Six, South Carolina1910T.C. Anderson House, Ninety-Six, South CarolinaPostcardNinety Six - Graded Schoolc. 1915Ninety Six - Graded SchoolPostcardNinety Six - 19161916Ninety Six - 1916Postcard
1920s–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
Today21 recent
Lou Ellen Dr2009Lou Ellen DrBuildings in Ninety Six downtown2009Buildings in Ninety Six downtownAround Ninety Six 0462009Around Ninety Six 046Around Ninety Six 0442009Around Ninety Six 044Around Ninety Six 0352009Around Ninety Six 035Around Ninety Six 0292009Around Ninety Six 029Around Ninety Six 0272009Around Ninety Six 027Around Ninety Six 0262009Around Ninety Six 026Around Ninety Six 0252009Around Ninety Six 025Around Ninety Six 0242009Around Ninety Six 024Around Ninety Six 0232009Around Ninety Six 023Around Ninety Six 0222009Around Ninety Six 022Around Ninety Six 0212009Around Ninety Six 021Around Ninety Six 0202009Around Ninety Six 020Around Ninety Six 0192009Around Ninety Six 019Around Ninety Six 0182009Around Ninety Six 018Around Ninety Six 0172009Around Ninety Six 017Around Ninety Six 0062009Around Ninety Six 006Around Ninety Six 0022009Around Ninety Six 002SCMap-doton-NinetySix2004SCMap-doton-NinetySixSavannah River Scenic Byway - A Rifle Tower on the Ninety-Six Battlefield2003Savannah River Scenic Byway - A Rifle Tower on the Ni…
On the map

Ninety Six on the map, 1949 to 1978

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

Ninety Six on the 1949 USGS mapNinety Six on the 1978 USGS map1949Ninety-Six 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 Ninety Six.

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.

Ninety Six - Bank
Retake this viewNinety Six - Bank, c. 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Ninety Six, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,249

Between 414 and 2,249 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Ninety Six

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

See all →
Odean PopeAmerican jazz saxophonist · b. 1938
Elliott Crayton McCantsAmerican writer · b. 1865
C
Cal DrummondBaseball umpire · b. 1917
G
Gordon B. HancockAmerican educator · b. 1884
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Ninety Six’s post office has been open since 1852.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Colonial HeightsSpringdale
Gone or out of use
Trinity Churchchurch

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

Help out

Finish Ninety Six’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNinety Six - Bank: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Ninety Six’s history

What year was Ninety Six founded?

In 1730, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ninety Six’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1880 counted 468 people here.

How does Ninety Six rank for history?

Ninety Six is more historic than 87% 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 Ninety Six?

4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 historic district, the Ninety Six National Historic Site,.

How old are the homes in Ninety Six?

26% of Ninety Six’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1958.

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 (30), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.