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History · Swansea

Swansea’s post office opened in 1892, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Peter M. and Alice Oliver House. Below: maps from 1946 on and the census since 1900.

1892first post office
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bernardgeorgeh · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Swansea began

When was Swansea founded?

1892

The Swansea post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 239 in 19002020 census: 722134 years
Founding year: the first Swansea post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Swansea’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 Swansea are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Swansea’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Swansea, in brief

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

Swansea is a town in Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Swansea had a population of 722. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 827 to 722 (-13%).

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

Timeline

Swansea, 1892 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Swansea post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912Born hereJuanita Redmond Hipps is born here
  5. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1974Born hereVictor Riley is born here
By decade

Swansea, decade by decade

Today6 recent
South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swansea testing site2020South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swan…South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swansea testing site2020South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swan…South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swansea testing site2020South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swan…South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swansea testing site2020South Carolina National Guard directs traffic at Swan…South Carolina National Guard flood recovery 151013-Z-XH297-0112015South Carolina National Guard flood recovery 151013-Z…SCMap-doton-Swansea2004SCMap-doton-Swansea
On the map

Swansea on the map, 1946 to 1986

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

Swansea on the 1946 USGS mapSwansea on the 1986 USGS map1946Woodford 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 Swansea.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Swansea

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
2023
Peter M. and Alice Oliver House
Peter M. and Alice Oliver House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Peter M. and Alice Oliver HouseBuilding · listed 2023

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

People over time

Swansea, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 950

Between 239 and 950 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Swansea

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Juanita Redmond HippsUS Army nurse during World War II · b. 1912
V
Victor RileyAmerican football player · b. 1974
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

GastonIts storyC−

Questions about Swansea’s history

What year was Swansea founded?

The Swansea post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Swansea?

One place: the Peter M. and Alice Oliver House (listed 2023).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.