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Van Wyck sits in the northern tip of Lancaster County, South Carolina, near the North Carolina state line and along the Catawba River basin. Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Catawba tribe whose villages and trade routes passed through the region. In the 1700s, European settlers of German, Scots-Irish, and English descent began to establish farms and trading posts in the Waxhaw region, including the area that became Van Wyck. The original settlement was once called "Cocheecho," after a Native American chief, before changing names when the railroad arrived.

With the arrival of rail infrastructure in the late 19th century, Van Wyck transformed from a rural crossroad to a community connected to regional trade. The town's name was officially adopted in the 1880s and comes from the wife's family of a railroad official—a family from New York named Van Wyck. The presence of the railroad encouraged mills, brickworks (such as the Ashe Brick Company founded in 1906) and small industries to serve the growing region. The community also benefited from the U.S. 521 and S.C. 5 highways, which provided later access to Charlotte and other urban markets.

Community character in Van Wyck has long emphasized rural heritage, neighborliness and a sense of emerging suburban-in-the-making identity. Churches and civic gatherings have anchored the population through the 20th century, and in recent years the town was formally incorporated in 2017. Despite growth pressure from nearby metropolitan areas, Van Wyck retains wooded lots, creek-side homes and a slower pace of living. Local traditions, volunteer organizations and events such as the annual "Lighting of the Way" remain important for community cohesion.

Today Van Wyck offers residents a rare blend of quiet rural living with easy access to the Charlotte metropolitan region just 29 miles away via U.S. 521. Newer residential developments are appearing alongside long-standing farms and forests. The town's incorporation and ongoing community planning signal its transition from rural crossroad to intentional small town, but the slower rhythm of life, green space and local legacy remain at its heart.