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D−History
History · South Sumter

Half of South Sumter’s homes were built after 1981

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of South Sumter was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1946 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers

About South Sumter’s history

How historic is South Sumter?

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More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives South Sumter’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Sumter is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Sumter’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%
NewerOlder

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 South Sumter’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 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 South Sumter’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Sumter’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Brady HeightsGuignard Park EastMoses HeightsShannontownTiller Circle
1cemetery inside South Sumter
Jones

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

South Sumter, in brief

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

South Sumter is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,365 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sumter, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,411 to 1,989 (-18%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

South Sumter on the map, 1946 to 1982

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

South Sumter on the 1946 USGS mapSouth Sumter on the 1957 USGS mapSouth Sumter on the 1982 USGS map1946Sumter 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 South Sumter.

People over time

South Sumter, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50020002020Peak: 3,365

Between 1,989 and 3,365 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Sumter

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

See all →
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about South Sumter’s history

How does South Sumter rank for history?

South Sumter is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. 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 South Sumter?

0.0% of South Sumter’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 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.