Back in 2004 I discovered a place on the web that was trying to collect a photo of every post office in the U.S. This sounded a lot like Don Quixote’s quest and that made it right up my alley. After 3 months and around 3 dozen photos we dropped the whole thing because none of the photos I submitted were added to The Postal Gallery Database. I guess they lost interest because the last update was in February 2004.1
Then a chance encounter with a PO at the end of 2006 sparked our interest again. Even if it was a lost cause for the Postal Gallery Database folks, it was a perfect excuse for Donna and I to do something together we both like, drive around back roads and take photos. In 2007 we photographed 310 of the 454 South Carolina Post Offices, most of the remaining 100 were done in 2008 with the last few photographed in early 2009.
Abbeville to Cassatt
Abbeville - 29620 - Abbeville has such a quaint and interesting downtown, yet the Post Office is several miles north of the town square in a rundown shopping center right between a laundromat and an empty space. (03/17/07)
Adams Run - 29426 - Of today's eleven Post Offices this is most "unusual", nearly every other one was, I think, constructed from the same plans. If ever go to Edisto Island, SC you have to pass right by this place. (07/06/08)
Aiken - 29801 - Even though my home address has a zip of 29803, this post office in downtown Aiken is the one I use most. It is more convenient because it is right on the route taken to and from work, plus it is a perfect destination for a lunchtime top down drive. (02/13/04)
Aiken - 29803-5315 - [Unique Expressions CPU] This photo is a mini-milestone, #100. After covering most of the western side of the state of South Carolina on Post Office safaris, photo number one hundred was taken just a little over a mile from photo number one and a little under a mile from my house. (03/25/07)
Aiken - 29803-9998 - [Summerall Station] This is my home PO. After ten years of growth in the 80 & 90s, predominately to the south side of town, they added a second zip and post office to handle the extra mail around 1997. It is housed in part of an old hardware store location in a strip shopping center. (01/24/04)
Alcolu - 29001 - This city has the distinction of having the lowest number Zip Code in the State – 29001 (3/2/08)
Allendale - 29810 - Home of the friendliest Hardees staff we have ever had the pleasure of dining at. On the way down we had stopped for lunch and every customer was hon or shug. After being seating someone came around and asked if everything was OK. Most of the other folks must have been regulars as they we chatting up amongst themselves and the workers. I spotted the Post Office just across the road and filed it away for the trip back. (03/14/04)
Anderson - 29621 - The main Anderson PO takes up a huge chunk of a shopping center, but unlike the one in Abbeville and the other three in this town, this looks like the space was designed for this use. (03/18/07)
Anderson - 29623 - The first one was a little hard to find as it was in a shopping center hidden behind a line of businesses. We knew we were in the right block and looking on the right side, but we couldn't see it. Good thing it was early on a Sunday and traffic was light or we might have given up. We did find it finally by trying to turn around and stumbling onto to parking lot of the shopping center. (03/18/07)
Anderson - 29624 - The sun was directly behind and just above the roofline making this photo a real trick to get with any kind of proper exposure. Moving off at an angle helped, but I still ended up with a very washed out sky. (03/18/07)
Anderson - 29625 - Although this wasn't listed as a CPU on usps.com, that is what it is. But seeing as it had some real serious signage on the building I snapped a picture. (03/18/07)
Andrews - 29510 - The sign just past the town limit one said Chubby Checker was born in Andrews. When I checked for confirmation, I also found out that comedian Chris Rock is from here as well. (08/31/08)
Arcadia - 29320 - I'm not so sure this can be classified as a trailer, but it sure looks like one. (09/02/07)
Awendaw - 29429 - Even though it has only been a week since I took this photo, I can't think of anything to write about it. (09/28/08)
Aynor - 29511 - When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. When the sun is directly in your face, make lens flare. (09/27/08)
Ballentine - 29002 - Another Post Office placement mystery. This PO was stuck on the end of a nearly isolated strip shopping mall and less than 3 miles from the last one in White Rock. (02/24/07)
Bamberg - 29003 - Here is probably the oldest Post Office on today's trip. They were tearing up the road right in front of it, so I had to make a weird little loop to get to an entrance. When I did find it, it was really an exit only, with the signs to prove it, but we went in anyway. As it turned out that was the only way to get in because of the construction. (5/13/07)
Barnwell - 29812-9998 - You take SC70 off the square in the center of town and you travel a short distance down a narrow street with two story buildings when all of a sudden the left side of the road opens up and there is this big ol' modern Post Office. (03/03/07)
Batesburg Leesville - 29070 - On the way into town we passed right by a neat old building that was for sale. It had an bas relief eagle on the front, right above the ionic columns and I thought, "I bet that is the old Post Office and when we find the new one it will be soulless." Bingo. (02/24/07)
Bath - 29816 - A small mill valley town with a proportionally sized Post Office. I have actually used this one, quite serendipitously, when trying to find an uncrowded Post Office to mail some Masters Miata Club newsletters. (01/24/04)
Beaufort - 29902 - A very modern looking building stuck between several historic churches and 150 year old homes. Definitely out of place. Seems the Postal Service could have been a little more sensitive to the surrounding neighborhood ambiance. (08/19/07)
Beaufort - 29906 - A shopping center annex built on the northwest side of town to handle the growth of Beaufort in that direction. (08/19/07)
Beaufort - 29907 - We missed this Post Office the first time through Beaufort. The address on the USPS site says it is on Sams Point Rd and maybe it used to be, but somewhere in the couple of decades they redesigned the intersection and now the old road is called Sams Point Way. And in a strip shopping center there is the PO. Seems simple now... (03/06/09)
Belton - 29627 - I waited patiently in the shade of the tree for about five minutes, but the guy in the white truck was reading his mail and wouldn't leave. My patience wearing thin, I took a quick photo trying to beat that gold car. I didn't. (6/16/2007)
Bennettsville - 29512 - This building reminded Donna and I of an apartment building. Perhaps because it is a dead ringer for the architecture and style of one we lived in in Millington, TN. (07/15/07)
Bethune - 29009 - Another cookie cutter Post Office, 2 days later I can't tell you anything about this one, except that it looks an awful lot like an awful lot of Post Offices we've seen already. I bet 10% of the so far photographed have been of this design. (03/11/07)
Bishopville - 29010 - We passed right by this Post Office on our trip to Darlington. Less than a half mile down the road was the old PO, which had tons more character. (01/13/07)
Blacksburg - 29702 - Another nondescript Post Office in another nondescript town. Please if you live in Blacksburg, I'm sure it is a nice town and has many redeeming characteristics, but we just didn't get to see them on our route through your little hamlet. (11/11/07)
Blackstock - 29014 - It is amazing how difficult it was to find this Post Office using the Google map print out. The town has two streets that straddle some railroad tracks and several connectors. We missed the main connector and had to turn around. After crossing the tracks we turned right as indicated, but we didn't cross on the right connector, so it really was to the left, sigh. (11/11/07)
Blackville - 29817 - Neat small town with railroad tracks, now unused, running through the center. The street on one side is called Main and the street on the other is called Railroad. Blackville has a large Mennonite population and they operate a restaurant called Millers Breadbasket that is quite popular. On weekends they draw folks from Aiken, Augusta and even Charleston, which is over 100 miles away. (02/15/04)
Blair - 29015 - Peak, another cul de sac town, had 61 people according to the 2000 census, but Blair is even smaller and didn't get a separate entry, they were just lumped into the Fairfield County stats. (09/09/07)
Blenheim - 29516 - Original home of Blenheim Ginger Ale created by a local doctor in 1903 by mixing Jamaican ginger with the local mineral waters since the flavor of the mineral waters was so strong. Now bottled in Hamer, SC home of South of the Border. (07/15/07)
Bluffton - 29910 - Wow. Nice, new, giant Post Office as is befitted of all the nice, new, giant shopping centers being built in Bluffton (AKA Hilton Head North.) (11/17/07)
Blythewood - 29016 - Popular Post Office style in this area. This is the third of today's eight to look just like this. (09/09/07)
Boiling Springs - 29316 - Another Post Office of a certain vintage that has no mention of the town name on the building, leaving that to a big white sign out front. Neither the building nor the sign has any zip code visible. (09/02/07)
Bowling Green - 29703 - Not a single Corvette in sight. We did see a couple Miatas in downtown Clover though. (12/01/07)
Bowman - 29018 - Open the Post Office Box door Hal. I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. I cautiously pulled a u-turn to park in front of this PO because, to my back here, is the town Cop Shop. But all was quiet in town this morning, nothing was stirring except for the octogenarian in the golf cart who passed by on the sidewalk behind me. (5/13/07)
Bradley - 29819 - Bradley is a mere wisp of a town with a shiny new post office. Although it is from the same mold as the Saluda PO I trashed earlier, at least they had gumption to put a little blue sign (seen right above the car) that has the name of the town and the zip code it serves. (02/10/07)
Branchville - 29432 - Can't really tell this is a Post Office from this shot. The Blue Box is off to the right and the big silver letters spelling out USPO, city and the zip are hidden behind that Palmetto tree. (5/13/07)
Brunson - 29911 - Not letting my unsuccessful HHI search bring me down, I asked Donna if it was OK to take some pictures on the drive home. She agreed, but only if the Post Office was visible from our normal route, no chasing around aimlessly in every small town between the coast and home. The first one we spotted was in the town of Brunson. The Post Office was located on the road parallel to US78 just on the other side of the railroad tracks. (03/14/04)
Buffalo - 29321 - The town of Buffalo is more like a suburb of Union. I bet this Post Office was less than 5 miles away from Union's PO. (11/02/07)
Cades - 29518 - Somewhere along the line the original A fell out of the town name on the outside of the building. A handy townsperson made a new letter out of wood and mounted back on the front of the Post Office. But unfortunately he didn't have any paint to match, so just used what he had on hand. (03/01/08)
Calhoun Falls - 29628 - Funny how that church steeple in the next block over makes this Post Office look like a house of worship. (03/18/07)
Camden - 29020-1825 - Nice new substation on the north side of town with a bright blue metal roof and lots of shiny postal delivery trucks parked in the side lot. (03/11/07)
Camden - 29020-9998 - Now here is a Post Office building that reflects how important they used to be, built out of granite by the Federal-by-God-Government. (03/11/07)
Cameron - 29030 - According to the 2000 census there are 449 people living in Cameron. Downtown, in the early afternoon on a Sunday, there was little evidence anyone lived here at all. (08/05/07)
Campobello - 29322 - Now that I have seen this more than once, I have to believe that the sign with the town name and ''Main Post Office'' on it has to come from some approved, but clueless Postal Service supplier. There is no way that a town of 449 people will have more than one. (09/01/07)
Carlisle - 29031 - As we sat here getting ready to get out and take a picture the un-official mayor of Carlisle walked by talking to himself and shouting after passing cars. He even gave us a little wave. (11/04/07)
Cassatt - 29032 - Almost missed this unimposing building. I pulled into a gas station/general store combo thinking the Post Office might be inside it. Then Donna pointed out that we were on the wrong side of the street for our address and there it was. (03/11/07)