Helena, South Carolina
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1941 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Newberry census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29108. The Survey maps it on the Newberry West quadrangle.
On record in Helena
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register within a mile 2 records
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
Osborne Wells Houselisted 1980 · 0.8 miles away
Vincent Street Historic Districtlisted 1980 · 0.9 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1941 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Spartanburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Newberry West quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Newberry quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
178 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 178 fires within 5 miles of Helena between 1992 and 2020, burning about 436 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 109 |
| Debris and open burning | 38 |
| Natural | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 29 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 28 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 24 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 21 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 August 2007 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 August 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Helena: 3 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Granite, Stone, Dimension, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newberry Quarry | Granite | Unknown | Igneous | |
| Newberry Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Newberry Quarry | Granite, Stone, Dimension | Past Producer | Igneous | |
| Unnamed Granite Quarry | Granite, Stone, Dimension | Past Producer | Igneous |
Storms near this place
12 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Helena in 12 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | 1 hurt | A tree was downed on a house on Pauline St in Newberry. One injury occurred. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | $10,000 | Disparch reported trees and powerlines down from Newberry to Pomeria. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | $5,000 | A tree was downed on a house on Bess St in Newberry. Time estimated. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | $500 | Highway Patrol reported a tree down at Brown Chapel Road and Brown Chapel Drive. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | - | Trained weather spotter reported tree down on a powerline in the 6500-6800 block of SC 121. Time estimated by radar. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | - | Newberry County dispatch reported trees down at 2nd Street and Digby Street. Time estimated by radar. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | - | Newberry Co Sheriff's Office reported trees down off of Hwy. 121 and Drayton St. Time estimated. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | - | Trees down near the intersection of Bradbury Way and Bush River Rd. Time estimated. |
| October 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | - | A large oak tree was downed on Pope St. Time estimated. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Helena | - | Newberry Co dispatch reported at least 20 trees down across the county. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Helena | - | Public reported quarter size hail west of Newberry from the storm that produced golf ball size hail near Silverstreet earlier. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Helena | - | Public reported nickel size hail near Newberry. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newberry | 1.3 miles | 13 | |
| Devils Cross Roads | 2.0 miles | 13 | |
| Spearman (historical) | 3.4 miles | 12 | |
| Smyrna | 3.6 miles | 13 | |
| Southeast Newberry | 4.2 miles | 13 | |
| Jalapa | 4.9 miles | 13 | |
| Beth Eden | 4.9 miles | 13 | |
| Boyd | 5.3 miles | 12 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1231373. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






