A street scene of Allendale, looking south, around 1951. The present site of Allendale was determined by the construction of the Charleston and Western Carolina Railroad through the area around 1872. An earlier community about four miles south (which later became known as Old Allendale) had served as a post office for the surrounding region of large plantations, but the increase of population caused by the railroad led to the establishment of a new town along its route, named Allendale in honor of Paul Allen, the postmaster.
Courtesy of the Aiken County Historical Museum.