Pacolet Mineral Spring and was the first of several mineral springs in the county to receive widespread recognition as a health spa. The stagecoach tables show it was a stop in the 1790’son the route from Yorkville to Spartanburg. It became known as Poole’s Spring ca. 1825, and in 1855 R. C. Poole operated a hotel here for 40 to 50 boarders in “plain, decent country style.” (Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on Oct. 31, 1872 – “The flouring grist and saw mills and carding machine belonging to LeRoy McArthur and situated at Pacolet were destroyed by fire on Oct. 15th.”
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on Aug. 10, 1882 – “Mr. George Hampton, a citizen of Black’s Station, is engaged as a quarry worker at the cotton factory being built on Trough Shoals on the Pacolet River. He was severely injured by the premature explosion of a blast in the quarry on Aug. 1st.”
The Rock Hill Herald reported on Feb. 8, 1883 – “When the Pacolet Mill in Spartanburg Co., is completed, it will be the 7th mill in Spartanburg and the whole state will have 27 mills.”
On Jan. 31, 1884 the Yorkville Enquirer reported – “The Pacolet Manf. Co., began spinning about a month ago. Everything is in fine working order and they intend to have all spindles and looms operational soon.”
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on April 24, 1889 – “Mr. William Strain has returned from a months visit to Trough Shoals Factory. Many of the operatives are from western York and norther Union Counties.”
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on March 18, 1891 – “A large cotton warehouse and two thousand bales of cotton were destroyed last week at the Pacolet Manf. Co., in Spartanburg County. The entire loss is in the neighborhood of $85,000.”
City Directories and History: “Pacolet Mills, on Pacolet River, 12 miles southeast of Spartanburg, was formerly Trough, named for the trough like opening of the shoals in the river.
Pacolet Plant image ca. 1905 – Courtesy of the Meek Collection (Note it was this image which was used to make the postcard image further down the column.)
Image courtesy of the Willis Postcard Collection – 2016
John H. Montgomery, one of Spartanburg’s textile pioneers, purchased the shoals in 1881 and built the Pacolet Manufacturing Company there during the next two years.”
Montgomery Memorial United Methodist Church -Image courtesy of photographer Bill Segars – 2015
Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC
See a layout of the Pacolet Mill community under the More Information / Enlargeable PDF link found under the primary image.
The Montgomery Memorial Methodist Church constructed in 1927 was an outgrowth of the Pacolet Mills Company.
The Pacolet Manufacturing Company, which also consists of two mills, commenced operations in December 1883. The officers are: John H. Montgomery, president and treasurer; directors, John B. Cleveland, Joseph Walker, Stephen Green, John H. Montgomery, Frank E. Taylor, C.E. Fleming, R.K. Carson, and John D. Murchison. The capital stock is now $450,000. The product of the two mills per day is 50,000 yards. Some of this is in sheeting and the other in brown drills. About 10,550 bales of cotton are consumed each year.
The pay roll of the operatives, not including the salaries of various officers of the company, amounts to over $100,000 annually. There are no strikers or quarrelsome disturbers among the operatives, and if the writer had to search for an intelligent body of people, combining the qualities of good citizenship, he would make a requisition on the operatives who have done so much to make this manufacturing center the attractive and lovely place it is. There are 107 tenement houses, all of which have been built by the company with an eye single to the comfort and convenience of those who live in them. A very handsome church has been built in the middle of the town where all denominations worship.
The most notable building, apart from the two mills, is the store, which is owned and operated by the Pacolet Manufacturing Company. About $15,000 is invested in the store, and, under the management of D. Baxter Wood, it has always been a paying investment. The store is 90 feet long by 30 feet wide, and in it is kept everything that could be desired. There are on the outskirts four smaller stores which are also said to do a good business. There are two skilled physicians here: Dr. C.C. Roy and Dr. S.H. Griffith.
Pacolet Warehouses – Courtesy of photographer Ann L. Helms, 2018
The school here is one of the best factory schools in South Carolina. It runs ten months in the year and has an average attendance of 130 pupils. Mr. A.B. Stalworth is the principal, assisted by his sister, Miss Sallie Stalworth. The school is a free school, and the $200 that is due each year from the county is handsomely supplemented by the company. (Reprinted from South Carolina in the 1880s: A Gazetteer by J.H. Moore, Sandlapper Publishing Company – 1989)
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- Images of Pacolet, S.C. in 2019 by Peter Krenn, photographer.
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- Images from the Pacolet Museum – 2019
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Sloan – Epton Spartanburg Co Map ca. 1869. Courtesy of the Cobb Collection – Other Side of the River Museum, 2016
Note the location marked on the map of Pacolet Manufacturing Company.
IMAGE GALLERY – Courtesy of the Meek Collection (Date Unknown)
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