★ LandmarkThe story
Read it all →How St. Stephen came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of St. Stephen.
The Keller Site and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · St. Stephen
St. Stephen dates to 1754, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of St. Stephen was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1880.
1754founded
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Quick answers
How St. Stephen began
When was St. Stephen founded?
1754
St. Stephen dates its founding to 1754 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 79 in 18802020 census: 1,571272 years
How historic is St. Stephen?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Stephen’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Stephen is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Stephen’s overall grade.
Founding era1754, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19403.9% of homes (±3.8) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 6.8 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
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 St. Stephen’s 6.8 sits near the middle of its state (60% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1754.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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. Stephen’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 St. Stephen are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s St. Stephen, and 1 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, a National Historic Landmark.Older than the countryEstablished in 1754, 22 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start St. Stephen’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Stephen’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
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Saint Stephen's Depot
Saint Stephen
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Stephen
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside St. Stephen
Saint StephenSaint StephensSunset Memorial
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
1 historic place in St. Stephen
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
Buildings★ landmark
Architectural styles listings
Colonial1
Georgian1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Timeline
St. Stephen, 1754 to 1979
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1754FoundingSt. Stephen is established
- 19th century
- 1866Post officeThe Saint Stephen's Depot post office opens
- 1892Post officeThe Saint Stephen's Depot post office closes
- 1892Post officeThe Saint Stephen post office opens
- 1898Born hereTom Campbell is born here
- 20th century
- 1919Born hereDeWitt Williams is born here
- 1940Born hereKermit Eady is born here
- 1943
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1970LandmarkSt. Stephen's Episcopal Church named a National Historic Landmark
- 1977Born hereLance Legree is born here
- 1979Post officeThe Saint Stephen post office closes
By decade
St. Stephen, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2020
2011On the map
St. Stephen on the map, 1943 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Stephen. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Bonneau sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of St. Stephen.
People over time
St. Stephen, census by census
Between 79 and 1,850 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Stephen’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in St. Stephen
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about St. Stephen’s history
What year was St. Stephen founded?
In 1754, according to Wikidata. St. Stephen’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1880 counted 79 people here.
How does St. Stephen rank for history?
St. Stephen is more historic than 66% 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. Stephen?
One place: the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (listed 1970).
How old are the homes in St. Stephen?
4% of St. Stephen’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1985.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.