North Charleston’s post office opened in 1915, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #94 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of North Charleston was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 85 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1980.
The North Charleston post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1972. Four smaller post offices, Ashley Phosphate (1889), Fetteressa (1894) and Lambs (1904), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 62,479 in 19802020 census: 114,852111 years
How historic is North Charleston?
C−
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first North Charleston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1972.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Charleston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Charleston is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #94 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 North Charleston’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, North Charleston ranks #332 on History.
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 North Charleston’s 7.6 sits near the middle of its state (61% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 91 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at North Charleston’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1972.
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 North Charleston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ashley Phosphate SchoolschoolCharleston Army Air FieldmilitaryDorchester SchoolschoolLambs SchoolschoolNaval Air Station CharlestonmilitaryNorth Charleston Air Force StationmilitaryOak Grove SchoolschoolSaint Paul Churchchurch
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Charleston
Carolina Memorial GardensCastleJohnsonOak GroveRiverview Memorial ParkSunset Memorial
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start North Charleston’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Charleston’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
From the 17th century until the Civil War, plantations cultivated commodity crops, such as rice and indigo. Some of the plantations in what is now North Charleston were:
Archdale Hall Plantation – dating from 1680, Archdale Hall was on the Ashley River. By 1783, it had grown to almost 3,000 acres (12 km2). Its primary crops were indigo and rice. The plantation was the longest family-owned plantation in South Carolina. It has since been redeveloped into the Archdale subdivision. (Archdale subdivision is not in corporate city limits of, but is surrounded by North Charleston)
Camp Plantation – dating from 1705, Camp Plantation covered around 1,000 acres (4.0 km2).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Charleston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Charleston 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 North Charleston.
People over time
North Charleston, census by census
Between 62,479 and 114,852 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Charleston’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
9 famous people were born in North Charleston
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The North Charleston post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1972.
How does North Charleston rank for history?
North Charleston is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #94 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 North Charleston?
8 listings: 5 buildings and 3 historic districts, the Charleston Navy Yard Historic District, the Charleston Navy Yard Officers' Quarters Historic District and the Charleston Naval Hospital Historic District, with 85 contributing buildings. 91 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in North Charleston?
1% of North Charleston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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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