Westminster Depot Archives

The Rock Hill Herald reported on Jan. 13, 1881 – “The cotton factory at Orangeburg is owned by Mr. G.M. Cornelson. It works on the Clement Attachment Plan. The mill has 1,220 spindles and 30 operatives. The first factory using the Clement Attachment in S.C. was started at Westminster by Mr. Stribling. The manager at the mill at Orangeburg is Mr. Hicks, who has worked in the mill in Westminster and the Camperdown Mill in Greenville. The Orangeburg Mill machinery is operated by a 60HP engine built by the George Page and Co. Works in Baltimore.”

The Yorkville Enquirer reported on March 24, 1881 – “Col. A.P Butler, the acting commissioner of immigration, has brought a group of nine men, a women and one child from one area of the province of West Phalia in Germany. The men included seven farmers, a cigar maker and a brick maker. Most of them will obtain employment with Mr. Stribling the prop. of the Clement Attachment mill at Westminster.”

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City Directories and History: According to tradition, the Westminster Depot was built ca. 1885. The railroad was one of the principle reason for the growth and development of the town of Westminster (incorporated in 1875), and as a result, the railroad station is one of the town’s oldest buildings and has long been considered a local landmark. The station served as a gathering place and as a center of activity for this small community. With the general decline of the railroad in America, Westminster’s rail services were curtailed; the passenger service eventually being discontinued about 1969. Rectangular in plan, this structure features a prominent hip roof with a deep overhang,

The old Westminster Pres. Church was a focal point of the town. Courtesy of the AFLLC Collection – 2017

supported by large wooden brackets. Opening to the exterior are four double doors and four single, five-paneled doors. There are ten windows with leaded diamond-shaped panes on the upper sashes and a single panel below. At the rear of the structure is a large three-sectioned dormer window featuring diamond-shaped panes. Directly beneath this dormer is a three-sectioned bay window. Above all the single doors and one of the sliding doors are transoms featuring the diamond-shaped panes. The structure has undergone several alterations during the 20th century, however, the basic integrity of the design remains. Listed in the National Register November 7, 1976 (Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History)

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NATIONAL REGISTER – IMAGE(S)

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IMAGE GALLERY via photographer Bill Segars – 2011