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History · Zion

Zion’s post office opened in 1882

Most of Zion was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1959 on.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Zion began

When was Zion founded?

1882

The Zion post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 136144 years
Founding year: the first Zion post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Zion’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 Zion are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Zion’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Zion’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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The story so far

Zion, in brief

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

Zion is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marion County, South Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census with a population of 136. The CDP is in northern Marion County, on the southeast side of South Carolina Highway 41, which leads southwest 7 miles (11 km) to Marion, the county seat, and northeast 10 miles (16 km) to Lake View. Mullins is 6 miles (10 km) to the southeast via local roads.

Its first post office opened in 1882.

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

Timeline

Zion, 1882 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Zion post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917Post officeThe Zion post office closes
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Zion on the map, 1959 to 1983

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

Zion on the 1959 USGS mapZion on the 1983 USGS map1959Fork 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 Zion.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Zion had its own post office from 1882 to 1917.

Zion
1882–1917
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Zion SchoolschoolZion Schoolschool

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

Questions about Zion’s history

What year was Zion founded?

The Zion post office opened in 1882, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.