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A−History
History · Pacolet

Pacolet’s post office opened in 1882, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #17 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 126 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1983 on, and the census since 1900.

1882first post office
4on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pacolet’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pacolet began, and where its name came from

When was Pacolet founded?

1882

The Pacolet post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Pacolett Mills (1846) and Trough (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 365 in 19002020 census: 2,274144 years

How did Pacolet get its name?

The town of Pacolet is named after the Pacolet River which runs through it.

How historic is Pacolet?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pacolet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pacolet’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pacolet is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #17 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pacolet’s overall grade.
Founding era1882, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.5% of homes (±8.6) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 129 historic buildings, 533 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 90%

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 Pacolet’s 533 sits above most of its state (97% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 129 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 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 Pacolet’s past

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

A historic districtThe Pacolet Mills Historic District takes in 126 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pacolet, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1915–1941.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 129 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
129
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Pacolet Mill Office
Pacolet Mill OfficePacolet Mills Cloth Room and WarehouseMarysville SchoolPacolet Mills Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Renaissance Revival2
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Tudor Revival1
Commercial Style1
Pacolet Mill OfficeRenaissance Revival
Pacolet Mills Cloth Room and WarehouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
Marysville SchoolBuilding
Pacolet Mills Historic DistrictBungalow/Craftsman

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Pacolet’s post office has been open since 1882. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pacolett Mills
1846–1866
Pacolet
1882–today
Trough
1891–1928
Pacolett Mills
1928–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Central PacoletMaryvillePacolet MillsPacolet Park
Gone or out of use
Keystone QuarrymineM and R QuarryminePacolet QuarryminePacolet Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pacolet
Browns Chapel Baptist ChurchMontgomery Chapel Baptist ChurchMount Sinai Church of GodPacolet First Baptist ChurchPacolet Memorial GardensPacolet United Methodist ChurchWhite Rose

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

By decade

Pacolet, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s18 items
Pacolet - Dr. Kirkpatrick's Residencec. 1915Pacolet - Dr. Kirkpatrick's ResidenceMules on a farm near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Mules on a farm near Pacolet, South CarolinaMule on a farm near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Mule on a farm near Pacolet, South CarolinaWorking on a prefabricated house near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Working on a prefabricated house near Pacolet, South …Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, So…Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, So…Plowing and planting on a farm near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Plowing and planting on a farm near Pacolet, South Ca…Plowing and planting on a farm near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Plowing and planting on a farm near Pacolet, South Ca…Mrs. Hodge in her new prefabricated house at Pacolet, South Carolina1941Mrs. Hodge in her new prefabricated house at Pacolet,…Family having lunch at their new prefabricated house at Pacolet, South Carolina1941Family having lunch at their new prefabricated house …The Lee family moving into their new prefabricated house at Pacolet, South Carolina1941The Lee family moving into their new prefabricated ho…Landscape in Camp Croft showing trailer family moving out. Near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Landscape in Camp Croft showing trailer family moving…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Working on a prefabricated house near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Working on a pre…Landscape in the Camp Croft area showing eroded land. Near Pacolet, South Carolina region1941Landscape in the Camp Croft area showing eroded land.…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters and their Model "T" near Pacolet, South Carolina1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Negro youngsters…
1950s–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
The story

How Pacolet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pacolet.

Read it all →

The area that would become Pacolet was seldom occupied for thousands of years, only occasionally passed through by American Indians. The local Catawba and Cherokee would almost exclusively use the land as hunting grounds, with the exception of soapstone quarries around the Pacolet River established approximately 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. The soapstone mined in the area would be used to make storage vessels and tools. It is believed that one of the quarries in the Pacolet area was the largest American Indian soapstone quarry in the United States.

ChaptersPrecolonialEarly European SettlementNineteenth CenturyTwentieth CenturyPresent

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pacolet, 1846 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Pacolett Mills post office opens
  3. 1866Post officeThe Pacolett Mills post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Pacolet post office opens
  5. 1891Post officeThe Trough post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1913Born hereC. Bruce Littlejohn is born here
  8. 1914Born hereErnie White is born here
  9. 1915In the archivePacolet - Dr. Kirkpatrick's Residence
  10. 1928Post officeThe Trough post office closes
  11. 1938Born hereGeorge Banks is born here
  12. 1941In the archiveMules on a farm near Pacolet, South Carolina
  13. 1983On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Pacolet on the map in 1983

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pacolet.

Pacolet on the 1983 USGS map1983Pacolet 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 Pacolet.

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.

Pacolet - Dr. Kirkpatrick's Residence
Retake this viewPacolet - Dr. Kirkpatrick's Residence, c. 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Pacolet, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,690

Between 309 and 2,690 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Pacolet

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

See all →
Ernie WhiteAmerican baseball player, 1914-1974 · b. 1914
C. Bruce LittlejohnAmerican judge · b. 1913
G
George BanksAmerican baseball player · b. 1938
Help out

Finish Pacolet’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 viewPacolet - Dr. Kirkpatrick's Residence: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Central PacoletIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pacolet’s history

What year was Pacolet founded?

The Pacolet post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pacolet rank for history?

Pacolet is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #17 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 Pacolet?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Pacolet Mill Office (listed 2004, the first), and 1 historic district, the Pacolet Mills Historic District, with 126 contributing buildings. 129 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Pacolet?

29% of Pacolet’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (1), the Library of Congress (17), 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) 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.