Ridgeland’s post office opened in 1882, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #62 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Jasper County Courthouse, the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Sinclair Service Station. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1910.
The Ridgeland post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Grahamville (1830) and Heyward (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 330 in 19102020 census: 3,758144 years
How historic is Ridgeland?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ridgeland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Ridgeland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ridgeland is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #62 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ridgeland’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 Ridgeland’s 8.0 sits near the middle of its state (62% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.3 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 Ridgeland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Ridgeland on the map, 1920 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ridgeland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Okatie 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 Ridgeland.
The story so far
Ridgeland, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ridgeland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ridgeland is a town in and the county seat of Jasper County, South Carolina, United States. The town incorporation limits extend into Beaufort County up to the Broad River. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census, all of which resided in Jasper County. Ridgeland is included in the Hilton Head Island metropolitan area. Ridgeland was originally known as "Gopher Hill" in 1894, derived from the gopher tortoise, which is indigenous to the area. The name was not considered good enough for a new railroad station, so it was changed to "Ridgeland" in 1902 by the station ticket master, Frederick Henry Ingram, for the fact that the town stands on a sandy ridge that is some of the highest land in J…
Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,036 to 3,758 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Ridgeland, 1830 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Ridgeland post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ridgeland rank for history?
Ridgeland is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #62 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 Ridgeland?
Three places: the Jasper County Courthouse (listed 1981), the Church of the Holy Trinity (1982) and the Sinclair Service Station (2015).
How old are the homes in Ridgeland?
11% of Ridgeland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1999.
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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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