Nestled just south of downtown Spartanburg, the Hampton Heights Historic District is the city’s oldest residential enclave—an elegant, oak-shaded neighborhood that unfolds a layered story of growth, decline, and revitalization.

From farmland owned by the Kirby and Irwin families in the late 1800s—once traversed by Reconstruction-era Union troops—the area began transforming into a residential haven in the 1880s and ’90s. Upper-middle-class professionals erected elaborate Queen Anne–style Victorians, many built on Spring Street and the newly extended Hampton Avenue.

The Hampton Heights Historic District is a picturesque mosaic of American architectural styles, a testament to suburban development in a growing turn-of-the-century Southern city. Its story spans from pastoral farmland to genteel residential streets, through mid-century decline, and into a renaissance fueled by preservation-minded residents. Today, it’s cherished not only for its beautiful homes but for its vibrant, inclusive community spirit, where annual events, neighborhood trees, and restored porches breathe life into history.