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CHistory
History · Roebuck

Roebuck’s post office opened in 1896, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #85 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Roebuck was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the Smith's Tavern. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1947 on, and the census since 2000.

1896first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Roebuck’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Roebuck began

When was Roebuck founded?

1896

The Roebuck post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Becca (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,725 in 20002020 census: 2,357130 years

How historic is Roebuck?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Roebuck post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Roebuck’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roebuck is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #85 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roebuck’s overall grade.
Founding era1896, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±1.7) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 3.4 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 50%

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 Roebuck’s 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (53% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 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 Roebuck’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roebuck’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWalnut Grove, Route 1, 1 mile East of i…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Roebuck came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roebuck.

Read it all →

The community was named for Revolutionary War Officer, Benjamin Roebuck.

Roebuck is home to the Walnut Grove Plantation, a preserved 18th-century farmhouse and tourist attraction. One of the daughters of the original owners, Kate Moore, was a scout for General Daniel Morgan during the Battle of Cowpens.

Smith's Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Roebuck, 1886 to 1947

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Becca post office opens
  3. 1896Post officeThe Becca post office closes
  4. 1896Post officeThe Roebuck post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Roebuck, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Walnut Grove, Route 1, 1 mile East of intersection of U.S. 221 & I-26Date?Walnut Grove, Route 1, 1 mile East of intersection of…Walnut Grove, Academy, Route 1, 1 mile East of intersection US 221 & I-26Date?Walnut Grove, Academy, Route 1, 1 mile East of inters…Walnut Grove, Outbuildings, Route 1, 1 mile East of intersection US 221 & I-26Date?Walnut Grove, Outbuildings, Route 1, 1 mile East of i…Walnut Grove, Kitchen, Route 1, 1 mile East of intersection US 221 & I-26Date?Walnut Grove, Kitchen, Route 1, 1 mile East of inters…
Today2 recent
Smith's Tavern2012Smith's TavernSmith's Tavern2012Smith's Tavern
On the map

Roebuck on the map, 1947 to 1983

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

Roebuck on the 1947 USGS mapRoebuck on the 1983 USGS map1947Spartanburg 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 Roebuck.

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.

Walnut Grove, Route 1, 1 mile East of intersection of U.S. 221 & I-26
Retake this viewWalnut Grove, Route 1, 1 mile East of intersection of U.S. 221 & I-26

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Roebuck

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Smith's Tavern
Smith's Tavern
Buildings
Smith's TavernBuilding

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

People over time

Roebuck, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50020002020Peak: 2,357

Between 1,725 and 2,357 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Roebuck’s post office has been open since 1896. Another post office, Becca, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Becca
1886–1896
Roebuck
1896–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Heatherwood Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Roebuck
Heritage Memorial Gardens

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ArkwrightIts storyD

Questions about Roebuck’s history

What year was Roebuck founded?

The Roebuck post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Roebuck rank for history?

Roebuck is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Roebuck?

One place: the Smith's Tavern (listed 1974).

How old are the homes in Roebuck?

2% of Roebuck’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.