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.
Saint George to Sycamore
Saint George - 29477-7188 - [Grover] The USPS website lists this as St. George with a 29477 zip, but the building is about 6 miles south of there in a town by the name of Grover and the zip on the building's sign says 29447. Maybe Grover is not an official town anymore. Either way this Post Office looked closed and not just because it was Sunday. (5/13/07)
Saint George - 29477-7809 - Another shopping center location. I'm sure it is a whole lot cheaper to lease and remodel the square footage inside an existing building instead of buying land and building new, but it just isn't as photogenic. (5/13/07)
Saint Helena Island - 29920 - Wholly unremarkable Post Office less that 3 miles from the Sams Point Way Beaufort one. Donna went inside and mailed my sister her birthday present while I stayed outside and took pictures. (03/06/09)
Saint Matthews - 29135 - Stumbled on this one by accident when we had to take a detour for some construction on US601 on our trip home from Darlington. (01/13/07)
Saint Stephen - 29479 - The Grateful Dead released the song "Saint Stephen" on the album Aoxomoxoa in 1969. Performed in many concerts over the years, it is not clear how much the lyrics relate to the actual life of the saint. (04/20/08)
Salem - 29676 - Just out of the frame to the left are the historic gallows on which any convicted witches were punished. (09/22/07)
Salley - 29137 - Salley is home to the world famous Chitlin Strut Festival every fall. For those of you not familiar with chitterlings, let me explain, they are hog intestines, boiled until tender, then battered and deep-fried. Sound good? Not to me either, but 10,000 people descend on this town of less than a thousand to partake in this delicacy. Donna and I have zero plans to be among them. (02/15/04)
Salters - 29590 - In contrast to the last Post Office, there wasn't anyone here nor did anyone show up while we were there. (03/01/08)
Saluda - 29138 - Saluda's Post Office is the exact opposite of the Monetta PO we visited right before it. This is a modern brick cookie cutter building, so soulless that they couldn't even be bothered to put the town's name nor even the zip code any where out front. (02/10/07)
Sandy Springs - 29677 - In spite of our early start, just after dawn, on Saturday morning, we were not the first people at this Post Office. And as is typical of the Saturday P.O. Box owners, this guy didn't move at all, just sat in his truck and read his mail. (09/22/07)
Santee - 29142 - With an exit off I-95, Santee was bustling on a Sunday afternoon, but they must have all been transients because no one was checking their mail. The dark brick and blue awnings separate this Post Office from a lot of the other modern buildings. (08/05/07)
Sardinia - 29051-9342 - From the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina: "When the Government was ready to open a post office in the community that is now Sardinia, the residents could not agree on a name. Since they were meeting in the school house, somebody, seeing the globe, suggested that they spin it and let someone close his eyes and put his finger on a spot which would be the name. This happened to be Sardinia." (03/02/08)
Scotia - 29939 - This cute little building is about a block and a half away from the railroad tracks. I wonder if it was moved to this location after they built the highway and the trains became less important. (08/18/07)
Scranton - 29591 - The town of Scranton is just north of Lake City and was founded by two brothers from up north in search of more plentiful timber. They decided to name it after where they came from in Pennsylvania. (03/01/08)
Seabrook - 29940 - Across the street from the Post Office you can see a dilapidated building about to collapse. The few other buildings we passed on the way in were just as bad. But the road continues to the left and just out of view is a really nice entry sign to housing development that is probably filled with million dollar homes with private docks on the water. (08/19/07)
Sellers - 29592 - I uploaded this photo to Flickr just a few days ago and when I did a Google search for Sellers, SC the photo was hit number 23 and about 20 hits sooner than the Wikipedia entry. (04/19/08)
Seneca - 29678-9997 - [The Booksmith] A CPU that was inside a combination book store, card and gift shop. hey didn't have any Spenser books that I hadn't already read in the new or used sections. (09/22/07)
Seneca - 29678-9998 - The second time's a charm. We originally went to find this PO earlier in the day, but missed the own of Seneca entirely when it turns out that Wells Ave. loops around the town and crosses US76 two times. (09/22/07)
Sharon - 29742 - Darn the "Do Not Block Drive" sign, it is only for a little while and I'm on a mission. (11/11/07)
Sheldon - 29941 - It was Sunday morning and this PO was right across the street from a church. I wonder what all those nicely dressed African Americans thought of me as I stood in the middle of the street and took pictures of their Post Office? (08/19/07)
Silverstreet - 29145 - After the group shot for #50, I tried to get the rest of them to follow me home and catch two more Post Offices. The only ones adventurous enough were Rudy and Patti. Which turned out to be a good thing, as 5 cars would have been too many for the size of those two parking lots. (02/17/2007)
Simpsonville - 29680 - [Fairview] Newer Post Office with no real indication on the building as to where you are. And again a FedEx box right out front. (6/17/2007)
Simpsonville - 29681 - What's with allowing the competition, FedEx, to place one of their boxes right there near the front door? (6/17/2007)
Six Mile - 29682 - I think his will be the last series of night time Post Office photographs. You just can't get a good look at the building. (09/22/07)
Slater - 29683 - This is way to near Marietta, SC. It is less than a half a mile away. Whatever, this must be a well used Post Office as it is housed in a very new building and has a nice well lettered awning out front. (10/14/07)
Smoaks - 29481 - An inactive Post Office that was right next door to a very active convenience store. When it came time to leave we had to wait a few seconds for an extremely well dressed old man who was standing three feet off the curb staring at a dead cat in the road. (08/25/07)
Smyrna - 29743 - There was an old decrepit table right out front with an old phone book and some other junk on it. What the heck is with that? (11/11/07)
Society Hill - 29593 - Donna's cousin Laurie warned us that this town was a well known speed trap. Wouldn't you know it, the local constabulary had someone pulled over just up the street from us as I took this picture. I was waiting for him to come rushing over t see what I was up to, but he didn't. I did obey the 25 MPH limit as I drove away. (07/15/07)
Spartanburg - 29301-9996 - [Westside] Big new building that probably serves as the mail processing center for the whole region. (09/02/07)
Spartanburg - 29301-9997 - [Westgate] Almost drove right by this place as we were so intent on looking for other indicators that we didn't see the address numbers in 3 foot high lettering on top of the shopping center's sign. (09/02/07)
Spartanburg - 29303 - [Cedar Springs] A few small outward signs are all that tell you there is a Post Office located inside this store. (09/02/07)
Spartanburg - 29305 - [Pinewood] Missed this one first pass, but having plenty of experience rooting out these shopping cent POs we found it on the second time around. (09/02/07)
Spartanburg - 29306 - Large downtown Post Office and my first find of an R2D2 emblazoned blue mail box. (09/02/07)
Spartanburg - 29318 - [Hillcrest] What is the connection with Ace Hardware and Post Offices? This is the second one in Spartanburg and the third in the sate so far. (09/02/07)
Springfield - 29146 - Home of the Simpson's. Click or Clack of Car Talk (who can tell them apart) is fond of saying there is a town named Springfield in every state in the nation, well, here is the South Carolina one. Yes, that is rain pouring down. Every Post Office in this gallery was taken on the same rainy Sunday morning, but this was the only picture I had to stand under an umbrella to take. (02/15/04)
Starr - 29684 - No identifying town name or zip code on the building itself, but at least the city name is on the big white sign out by the street. (03/18/07)
Startex - 29377 - Another South Carolina mill town fast becoming a ghost town. Startex was so much so a mill town that the Post Office was inside a mill building. (09/02/07)
State Park - 29147 - There is no city in the state of South Carolina with the name of State Park. All the mapping places I tried by plugging the address showed me a spot somewhere north of Columbia, SC. I figured it was some sort of error so never pursued it. Until today. We followed the Goggle map and we found a little enclave called State Park. I guess it is called that because it looks like a bunch of state agencies have moved into an old Army base from the 50's or something. (6/24/2007)
Sullivans Island - 29482 - We may have had choice of good parking spots, but can't catch a break on the light, for the 5th shot in a row the PO is back lit. (02/07/09)
Summerton - 29148 - You can't read it, but the little blue sign on the right says, "Summerton Main Post Office." Like a town of a thousand people is going to have other Post Offices? (08/05/07)
Summerville - 29483 - Big modern Post Office in a big historic downtown. (07/06/08)
Summerville - 29485 - A second big modern Post Office a long way from downtown. (07/06/08)
Sumter - 29150-5442 - [Savannah Plaza] The Post Office consisted of about 80-100 P.O. Boxes and a Dutch door off in a side corner of the supermarket. (08/05/07)
Sumter - 29150-7481 - Pocalla CPU] I'm not sure what this little place sold, but the neon sign on the right side of the building included Tuxedo Rental and Pharmacy along with Postage. (08/05/07)
Sumter - 29150-9998 - I got to break Donna's don't move the car once it is parked rule for this one. The sun was all wrong for my initial spot, plus there was an old guy reading his mail in a gray Toyota Corolla right up front. I drove to this end of the lot, parked and a few moments later he left. I just love the 70s style curled up awning over the door. (08/05/07)
Sumter - 29153 - [Camden Rd CPU] The Post Office part is located towards the back of the building inside a gift shop slash florist. All the better to help you mail something home you buy. (08/05/07)
Sumter - 29154 - [Shaw Square Plaza CPU] This little strip shopping center was right near the Shaw Air Force base and had seen better days. There were people on scaffolding on a section to the left putting up a nice new stucco fascia on that portion, so maybe this side will get the same update in the near future. (08/05/07)
Sunset - 29685 - It's early morning, not the more appropriate late evening, when I took this photo. (10/14/07)
Surfside Beach - 29575 - I walked several paces away from the car and sat down in the middle of the parking lot to get this perspective. It was early Sunday morning so I wasn't worried about cars. Turns out I probably should have been because a car came barreling in to fill up the news boxes out of frame to the left. He came no where near me, but... (09/28/08)
Swansea - 29160 - When traveling back and forth between Columbia and Aiken on SC302 I would always see a sign pointing to Swansea and wonder what the town looked like. Now I know. Nondescript. (04/07/2007)
Sycamore - 29846 - Hands down winner (in my book) as the cutest Post Office so far. Donna still thinks Vaucluse is the neatest, but I bet in another month when things are blooming, she'll come around to my way of thinking. (03/03/07)