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History · Wagener

Wagener’s post office opened in 1888, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Wagener began

When was Wagener founded?

1888

The Wagener post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 192 in 19002020 census: 631138 years
Founding year: the first Wagener post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wagener’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 Wagener are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 903 in 1980; 631 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wagener’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Wagener, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 903

Peaked at 903 in 1980; 631 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Wagener, in brief

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

Wagener is a town in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Wagener had a population of 631. As of 2010, the town was the largest settlement in the county north of the South Fork Edisto River. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 797 to 631 (-21%).

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

Timeline

Wagener, 1884 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Born hereWilla L. Fulmer is born here
  3. 1888Post officeThe Wagener post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Born hereBernard L. Austin is born here
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 903
  8. 1988Born hereRonnie Tyler is born here
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.
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On the map

Wagener on the map, 1944 to 1986

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

Wagener on the 1944 USGS mapWagener on the 1986 USGS map1944Seivern 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 Wagener.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Wagener

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

See all →
Willa L. FulmerAmerican politician · b. 1884
Bernard L. AustinUnited States Navy admiral · b. 1902
R
Ronnie TylerPlayer of American football · b. 1988

Questions about Wagener’s history

What year was Wagener founded?

The Wagener post office opened in 1888, 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 →
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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 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.