1 of Powdersville’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #81 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Woodson Farmstead. Most of Powdersville was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Powdersville is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #81 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Powdersville’s overall grade.
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 Powdersville’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (52% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
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 (±1.1 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Powdersville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The name Powders comes from the production and trade of gunpowder in the area. One of the first stores in present-day Powdersville was called the Powdersville Area General Store. In 1859 a powder mill was established in present-day Powdersville by John Bowen. During the American Civil War, the area was used to store gunpowder though Columbia remained the primary production site of the state's powder. Due to the area's use of gunpowder, the name Powders became a fixture for the location. The Saluda Valley-Powdersville Water Company was created in 1971 to serve drinking water to around 1,200 customers. In 1992, the name changed to Powdersville Water Company and in 2001 the name changed again to Powdersville Water District. The first high school in Powdersville was established in 2011 as Powdersville High School.
Powdersville is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #81 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 Powdersville?
One place: the Woodson Farmstead (listed 1998).
How old are the homes in Powdersville?
1% of Powdersville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (6), 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) 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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