City Directories and History: The Drayton Mill is significant for its association with the development of the textile industry in Spartanburg from 1902-1958, and as an essentially intact example of the architecture and engineering of a major southern textile and cotton mill complex that played a key role in the economy of
Spartanburg for a major part of the twentieth century. At its peak, Drayton Mill employed 1,200 people. Architecturally, it is an example of a Romanesque Revival style-influenced textile mill designed and built by the prolific textile engineering firm of Lockwood, Greene and Company of Boston, Massachusetts, and Spartanburg, South Carolina. In addition, the complex contains an architecturally distinct and significant company store and office building, constructed in 1919 in an almost residential Tudor Revival-French Eclectic style by Joseph E. Sirrine, one of the state’s and the region’s most distinguished textile mill designers of the early twentieth century. The nominated property contains eleven contributing resources, including the rectangular 1902-1904 three-story red brick spinning mill, designed by Lockwood, Greene and Company; the 1919 red brick Tudor Revival-French Eclectic company store and office building, designed by Sirrine; a 1918 cotton warehouse; a two-story 1928 weaving building; a 1,500,000 gallon mill pond; two water towers; two pump buildings; and an information center. Over the years, Drayton Mill was expanded and altered as was common with twentieth century textile mills to adapt to changes and innovations in the technology of manufacturing textiles. Additions were added to the 1902 mill consisting of a one-story office addition on the east side and a one-story warehouse addition on the south side in 1958. The cotton warehouse has additions dating from 1948 and the 1960s. Two additions were added to the store and office building in 1948. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places October 24, 2012.
View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.(Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History)
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