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C−History
History · Red Bank

Red Bank’s post office opened in 1873

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #107 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Red Bank was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1944 on.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bernardgeorgeh · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Red Bank began

When was Red Bank founded?

1873

The Red Bank post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Irene (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 10,924153 years

How historic is Red Bank?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Red Bank post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Red Bank’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Red Bank is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #107 of 169 in South Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Red Bank’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.2% of homes (±2.0) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical SC town 3.2 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 37%

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 Red Bank’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. 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 Red Bank’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Red Bank are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Red Bank, and 7 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Red Bank’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Red Bank’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Red Bank had its own post office from 1873 to 1874. Another post office, Irene, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Red Bank
1873–1874
Irene
1892–1908
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HarrisburgHoneywoodLand of the LakesOakridgeSouthgateWalnut CreekWrenwood
Gone or out of use
Cedar Grove Schoolschool

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

The story so far

Red Bank, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Red Bank yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Red Bank is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,617 at the 2010 census, up from 8,811 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,617 to 10,924 (+14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Red Bank, 1873 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Red Bank post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Red Bank post office closes
  4. 1892Post officeThe Irene post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1908Post officeThe Irene post office closes
  7. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Red Bank, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Piggly Wiggly2013Piggly Wiggly
On the map

Red Bank on the map, 1944 to 1982

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

Red Bank on the 1944 USGS mapRed Bank on the 1972 USGS mapRed Bank on the 1982 USGS map1944Edmund 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 Red Bank.

Famous people

Famous people close to Red Bank

Nobody well known was born in Red Bank itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Stanley DonenAmerican film director and choreographer · b. 1924
C
Charles Bolden23rd Administrator of NASA and astronaut · b. 1946
A
Aziz AnsariAmerican actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter… · b. 1983
Angie StoneAmerican singer and actress · b. 1961
Jermaine O'NealAmerican basketball player · b. 1978
Iron & WineAmerican musician · b. 1974
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lexington15 historic placesBWhite KnollIts storyD

Questions about Red Bank’s history

What year was Red Bank founded?

The Red Bank post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Red Bank rank for history?

Red Bank is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #107 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.

How old are the homes in Red Bank?

3% of Red Bank’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1990.

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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.