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History · Trenton

Trenton’s post office opened in 1878, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1890.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Trenton began

When was Trenton founded?

1878

The Trenton post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 302 in 18902020 census: 200148 years
Founding year: the first Trenton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Trenton’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 Trenton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 408 in 1940; 200 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Trenton’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Trenton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Trenton’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
People over time

Trenton, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 408

Peaked at 408 in 1940; 200 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Trenton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Trenton.

Read it all →

Bettis Academy and Junior College and Marshfield, a historic plantation house with outbuilding and cemetery, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Trenton, 1878 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Trenton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1931Born hereMack Gipson is born here
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 408
  6. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Trenton, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Sea of peach trees in a vast orchard near Trenton, South Carolina. Neighboring Georgia, the "Peach State," is a better-…2017Sea of peach trees in a vast orchard near Trenton, So…Marshfield Home Edgefield County2012Marshfield Home Edgefield CountyTrentonSCClock2011TrentonSCClock
On the map

Trenton on the map, 1964 to 1982

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

Trenton on the 1964 USGS mapTrenton on the 1982 USGS map1964Trenton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Trenton.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Trenton’s post office has been open since 1878.

Gone or out of use
Trenton High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Trenton’s history

What year was Trenton founded?

The Trenton post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (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.