Built around 1900, the Glenn Springs Post Office was originally located next to the famed Glenn Springs Hotel, a luxury accommodation built in 1838 to attract affluent visitors to a nearby mineral spring, which was purported to have medicinal value. The post office has weatherboard siding and a pedimented front door.
The first postmaster was Robert Allen Cates, who was also the proprietor of nearby Cates Store. Cates operated the billiard table at the Glenn Springs Hotel.
The popularity of the Glenn Springs Hotel began to wane in the early twentieth century with the development of South Carolina’s state highway system, which diverted travelers away from the area.
The hotel burned in 1941, and the post office was moved to its current location – across the road from its original location – in recent years. Today, it is located near a small, one-room building which is believed to have been the Glenn Springs Jail.
The Glenn Springs Post Office is listed in the National Register as part of the Glenn Springs Historic District:
Glenn Springs Historic District is located in the community of Glenn Springs, which is situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The history of the community focuses around the reputation of the mineral springs for their medicinal value and the related development of a popular resort hotel. The district contains nineteen properties, including several residences, two boarding houses, the ruins of a residence, two churches, a store, a post office, a pavilion, a cemetery, and the site of the Glenn Springs Hotel. Historically, the district represents the nineteenth and early twentieth century (ca. 1840-ca. 1940) development of Glenn Springs as a health resort and the community that grew up around it. Several buildings in the district are of local architectural significance as well, representing various vernacular and high styles of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries such as Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, and Bungalow.
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