Lyman is located in the western half of Spartanburg county, west of I-26 and north of I-85. The town of Lyman originally grew around a general store owned by Augustus Belton Groce, which opened in the mid-1870s. In 1923, the Groce family sold over 700 acres to Pacific Mills. In 1927, the town was renamed in memory of Arthur T. Lyman, a former president of the mill.