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A−History
History · Pickens

Pickens’ post office opened in 1827, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #16 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Old Pickens Jail, the Hagood-Mauldin House and the Griffin-Christopher House. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.

1827first post office
3on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pickens’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pickens began, and where its name came from

When was Pickens founded?

1827

The Pickens post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pickensville (1797), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 212 in 18802020 census: 3,388199 years

How did Pickens get its name?

Pickens was named after Andrew Pickens, an American revolutionary soldier and US Congressman for South Carolina.

How historic is Pickens?

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 Pickens post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pickens’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pickens is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #16 of 169 in South Carolina. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pickens’ overall grade.
Founding era1827, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194021.7% of homes (±10.7) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 4 historic buildings, 12.7 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 91%

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 Pickens’ 12.7 sits above most of its state (67% 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 still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.7 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 Pickens’ past

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

Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1924, drew every building in Pickens.Deep rootsA post office since 1827: 199 years of Pickens.Famous sons and daughtersGeorge H. McKee, Elijah Webb Chastain and 8 more were born here.Old housesHalf of Pickens’ homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Every building

Pickens, building by building, 1894–1924

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.

Pickens fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 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.

Timeline

Pickens, 1797 to 1957

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1797Post officeThe Pickensville post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1813Born hereElijah Webb Chastain is born here
  5. 1827Post officeThe Pickens post office opens
  6. 1875Post officeThe Pickensville post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1923Born hereGeorge H. McKee is born here
  9. 1931Born hereCharles Haldeman is born here
  10. 1933In the archiveRocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 199
  11. 1957Born hereBrowning Bryant is born here
  12. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Famous people

10 famous people were born in Pickens

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

See all →
George H. McKeeUnited States Air Force general · b. 1923
E
Elijah Webb ChastainConfederate Army officer · b. 1813
Browning BryantAmerican singer · b. 1957
C
Charles HaldemanAmerican writer · b. 1931
E
Earle Morris, Jr.American politician · b. 1928
Lizelia Augusta Jenkins MoorerAmerican poet · b. 1868
The story

How Pickens came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pickens.

Read it all →

Present-day Pickens of Pickens County was previously Cherokee Territory. During the American Revolutionary War, the Cherokee sided with the Kingdom of Great Britain. When Great Britain was defeated in the war, the Cherokee were forced to surrender their land. In 1791, the state legislature established Washington District that comprises present-day Greenville, Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties. In 1798 Washington District was divided into Greenville and Pendleton districts. The Pendleton district eventually became Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens County. Pendleton District was divided in 1828 into Anderson and Pickens. A courthouse was established on the banks of the Keowee River where the town of Pickens Court House was developed. The Hagood-Mauldin House was built circa 1856 and is one of the historic structures of Pickens County. In 1868, the Pickens District was divided for a final…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Pickens, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s7 items
Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 1991933Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of R…Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 1991933Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of R…Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 1991933Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of R…Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 1991933Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of R…Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 1991933Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of R…Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 1991933Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of R…Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 1991933Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of R…
1940s–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
Today8 recent
PickensSCDowntown2016PickensSCDowntownPickensSCCourthouse2016PickensSCCourthousePickensCityHallSC2016PickensCityHallSCOldPickensJailSC2016OldPickensJailSCHagoodMillP2016HagoodMillPPickens County Courthouse, Pickens (Pickens County, South Carolina)2011Pickens County Courthouse, Pickens (Pickens County, S…Elevation Marker2008Elevation MarkerSCMap-doton-Pickens2004SCMap-doton-Pickens
On the map

Pickens on the map, 1957 to 1983

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

Pickens on the 1957 USGS mapPickens on the 1983 USGS map1957Easley sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pickens.

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.

Rocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 199
Retake this viewRocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Intersection of Routes 178 and 199, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Pickens

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Old Pickens Jail
Old Pickens JailHagood-Mauldin HouseGriffin-Christopher House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Folk Victorian I-House1
Old Pickens JailBuilding
Hagood-Mauldin HouseClassical Revival
Griffin-Christopher HouseFolk Victorian I-House

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

People over time

Pickens, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500188019001920194019601980200020203,388

Grew from 212 people in 1880 to 3,388 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Pickens’s post office has been open since 1827. Another post office, Pickensville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pickensville
1797–1875
Pickens
1827–today
17901910today
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pickens
Pickens Presbyterian ChurchSecona Baptist ChurchSunrise

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

Help out

Finish Pickens’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRocky Bottom 4-H Camp, Dining Hall, Int…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Pickens’ history

What year was Pickens founded?

The Pickens post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pickens rank for history?

Pickens is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #16 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 Pickens?

Three places: the Old Pickens Jail (listed 1979), the Hagood-Mauldin House (1997) and the Griffin-Christopher House (2001).

How old are the homes in Pickens?

22% of Pickens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.7 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (15), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.