Lexington County is an ever growing community full of diverse history, and with the calendar about to flip to a new year, the Chronicle wanted to offer a different look at how the place has grown.

With the help of J.R. Fennell, director of the Lexington County Museum, we compiled a variety of historic images of different spots in the county (with the earliest dating back to 1886) and then re-took them to show how those locations look now in the present day.

Click on the photographic comparisons to enlarge them.

The original photo shows Lexington’s Main Street in the 1950s. Today, some of the original buildings still remain, now housing a variety of restaurants, including Bodhi, O'Hara's Public House, and Keg Cowboy. Lexington’s downtown continues to grow, with the ongoing renovation and expansion of Virginia Hylton Park poised to enhance the area and the Icehouse Amphitheater already doing so.

The Gervais Street Bridge (pictured on the left in 1929) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been standing since 1928 after taking two years to construct. According to the National Register website, the bridge spans 1,415 feet and was constructed by Hardaway Contracting Company at a cost of $597,167 ($10 million in today’s dollars).

One of the most drastic changes shown in this set is Batesburg’s Main Street. The original photo was taken in 1904 from what is now the intersection of Railroad Avenue and North Oak Street. The modern day image is taken looking down North Oak street, which is home to multiple stores, including two antique stores.

Built around 1870, the Batesburg Hotel was operated for many years by Mary Boatwright Nutt, who ceased operating it sometime in the 1920s. Where the hotel used to stand now sits a First Citizens Bank, but railroad tracks still run through the area.

This historical image of State Street in West Columbia shows many of the original buildings, which still stand, housing places like New Brookland Tavern, Tera, and Cafe Strudel, among others. It was taken by Richard Taylor, according to the South Carolina Digital Library.

After the demolition of the county jail in 1938, construction of the Lexington County Courthouse began the following year. The building was added to the National Register in 2014. The Old County Courthouse remains standing and is now used as the Town of Lexington’s Central Traffic Court, with the new courthouse standing a two-minute walk from its historic counterpart.

Built-in 1886 by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company, the Lexington County Jail was housed where the current Old Courthouse is today. Around the 1930s, the jail was in poor condition and was demolished in 1938. The jail was the site of the first recorded lynching in the county, when Willie Leaphart was shot to death by vigilantes in May 1890.

Built-in 1886 by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company, the Lexington County Jail was housed where the current Old Courthouse is today. Around the 1930s, the jail was in poor condition and was demolished in 1938. The jail was the site of the first recorded lynching in the county, when Willie Leaphart was shot to death by vigilantes in May 1890.

Swansea’s Monmouth Avenue was a bustling place in 1988 and is now mostly deserted, only housing a few businesses.