Founding year: the first St. Matthews post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Matthews’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Matthews is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Matthews’ 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 St. Matthews’ 36.5 sits above most of its state (75% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 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 St. Matthews’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
St. Matthews was established as the township of Amelia by Gov. Robert Johnson in the 1730s. The Col. J.A. Banks House, Buyck's Bluff Archeological Site, Calhoun County Courthouse, Calhoun County Library, Cherokee Path, Sterling Land Grant, Col. Olin M. Dantzler House, David Houser House, Prehistoric Indian Village, and Puritan Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The St. Matthews post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does St. Matthews rank for history?
St. Matthews is more historic than 80% 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.
What is on the National Register in St. Matthews?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Col. Olin M. Dantzler House (listed 1973, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in St. Matthews?
13% of St. Matthews’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.
1912
1933
1933
