Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #73 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Williamston was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1890.
Williamston dates its founding to 1842 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williamston is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #73 of 169 in South Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Williamston’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Williamston’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereGabriel H. Mahon, Jr. is born here
In the archiveGroup of boys working in the Williamston Mill
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWikipedia doesn’t have a history of Williamston yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Williamston is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina. The population was 4,043 at the 2020 census.
Williamston was established in 1842. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,934 to 4,043 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Williamston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Williamston.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Williamston’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 935 and 4,310 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Williamston’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Williamston’s post office has been open since 1852. Another post office, Mineral Spring, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1842, according to Wikidata. Williamston’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1890 counted 935 people here.
Williamston is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #73 of 169 in South Carolina. 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.
6% of Williamston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1970.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (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.
1912
c. 1915
2016
