Pacific Mills in Lyman, SC

Welcome to the South Carolina Textile History Portal. This site provides links to online resources relating to the history of textiles and the textile industry in South Carolina. Entries for archives, libraries, museums, and textile companies are arranged alphabetically by location. For institutions with a web site, a link is provided to the site, as is an indication of whether there are links to searchable databases or catalogs, special features of the site, and a short description of the institution's holdings relating to textiles. Otherwise, the entry includes not only a description of the holdings but contact information and hours of operation for the institution as well. There is also a selection of related links as well.

We hope that this site will continue to grow and provide increased access to the textile heritage of South Carolina. If you know of any links to online presentations/papers on the textile industry in the state; to additional archives, libraries, and museums that hold collections relating to the industry; to textile companies with a significant South Carolina presence; or to any other South Carolina textile-related sites, please contact Jim Cross, who is the Manuscript Archivist at Clemson University and designer of this site.

ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

University of South Carolina-Aiken, Gregg-Graniteville Collection

Aiken. Web site includes description of collection, which encompasses the records of the Graniteville Company and the papers of its founder, William Gregg. Also has a guide for users of the collection.

Anderson County Museum

Facility address:
101 S. Main St.
Room 316 Historic Courthouse
Anderson, SC 29624

Mailing address:
PO Box 8002
Anderson, SC 29622

Individual in charge of historical records program: Paula Reel, Director

Telephone: (864) 260-4737

Fax: (864) 260-4044

E-mail: preel@anderson.lib.sc.us

Collections

Dates: 1800s - present

Volume:
Paper records 16.0 lin. ft.
All records 16.0 lin. ft.

Scope and contents of collection
Includes paper records, photographs, maps, and magazine and newspaper articles primarily related to Anderson area businesses, individuals, and government organizations,  which includes the textile industry.

Open for research Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Appointments not necessary.

Central Heritage Society

Facility address: 
416 Church St.
Central, SC 29630

Mailing address: 
PO Box 1162
Central, SC 29630

Individual in charge of historical records program: G. Anne Sheriff, Volunteer Curator

Telephone: (864) 639-6387

E-mail: sheriff@innova.net

Collections

Dates: 1870 - 1950

Volume: 
Paper records 16.0 lin. ft.
All records 18.0 lin. ft.

Scope and contents of collection
Consists of two major collections. Max and Adele Perry Collection: correspondence, memoranda, financial statements, income taxes, estate of Ivy Mauldin Campbell, letters to World War II soldiers and their replies, all related to Mr. Perry as citizen, mayor, and member of the House of Representatives. 

Jeptha and Minnie Morgan Collection (leading area merchant and banker): personal papers, land records, bills, poems, photos, tours, school records, daybooks, calendars, Converse College scrapbooks, theatre programs, sheet music, Central school system records, Central Family records, Isaqueena-Cannon-Central Textile financial books, Daughters of the Confederacy records.

Open for research by appointment only. Appointments required.

South Carolina Historical Society

Charleston. Web site includes searchable online catalog consisting of three databases for manuscripts, books, and genealogical information. Has a small number of manuscript collections and books relating to textiles and the textile industry.

Clemson University Libraries, Special Collections

Clemson. Web site includes links to University Libraries' online catalog (which includes items in Special Collections) and links to finding aids for manuscript collections and University Archives. Has large collection of artifacts, books, journals, manuscripts, and University Archives relating to the textile industry, among them the records of the Alester Furman Company (a real estate company that sold mill villages all over the Southeast), Clifton Mills,  J. P. Stevens and Company, the Textile Hall Corporation, and various colleges, departments and schools of textiles that were (and are) part of Clemson University. The main library (R. M. Cooper Library) also has numerous books and journals on textiles and the textile industry.

South Carolina Department of Archives and History

Columbia. Web site includes searchable summary guide to the Archives' holdings. Repository for state government records; material relating to the textile industry can be found in the records of the Department of Commerce, the State Development Board, and the Textile-Apparel Industry Study Committee, among others.

University of South Carolina, South Caroliniana Library

Columbia. Web site includes links to University Libraries' online catalog (which includes items in the Caroliniana Library that have been added to its holdings since 1993) and links to finding aids for a small number of manuscript collections. The Library has a number of books and manuscript collections that relate to the textile industry, as well as extensive photograph and postcard collections that include images of textile mills. The main library (Thomas Cooper Library) also has numerous books and journals on textiles and the textile industry.

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William Elliott White Homestead Archives

Facility address:
N. White St.
Fort Mill, SC 29708

Mailing address:
1826 Second Baxter Crossing
Fort Mill, SC 29708

Individual in charge of historical records program: Ann Y. Evans, Archivist and Curator of Collections

Telephone: (803) 547-4557

Fax: (803) 802-5546

Email: WHITEHOMESTD@fmtc.net

Collections

Dates: 1764 - present

Volume:
Paper records 248.0 lin. ft.
All records 284.0 lin. ft.

Scope and contents of collection
The archival collection consists of wills, deeds, plats, land leases with the Catawba Indians, correspondence, diaries, journals, account books, receipts, reports, minutes, manuscript drafts, ships’ logs, original art works, photographs, newspapers and clippings, yearbooks, audio tapes, video tapes, slides, 16mm and 8mm film, architectural drawings, maps, family histories and memorabilia. The materials relate to the Springs, White and Close family genealogies, businesses, and land holdings in both North Carolina and South Carolina dating back to 1700, and to Fort Mill, South Carolina history. Many records pertain to Colonel Elliott White Springs as a World War I flying ace, writer and leading textile manufacturer. Of particular interest are the White Homestead family’s records regarding the last meeting of the Confederate Cabinet at the Homestead and the sons’ service in the Civil War, original art work by Montgomery Flagg, records relating to the settlement of Concord, North Carolina, correspondence between Elliott White Springs and his father Leroy Springs and with Lawrence of Arabia, and records relating to Springs Mills.

Open for research Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. By appointment only. Appointments required.

Greenville County Historical Society

Facility address:
107 Broadus Ave., Suite 205
Greenville, SC 29601

Mailing address:
PO Box 10472
Greenville, SC 29603

Individual in charge of historical records program: Richard Sawyer, Chair, Collections Committee

Telephone: (864) 250-8358

Fax: (864) 233-5541

E-mail: Sawyerds@gvltec.edu

Collections

Dates: 1890 - present

Volume:
Paper records 1.0 lin. ft.
All records 81.0 lin. ft.

Scope and contents of collection
Contains Coxe Collection (photographs); local history books; City of Greenville tax abstracts, tax receipts and license registers from 1890-1997;and maps, including 1891 sewer map. The Coxe Collection, shot by William B. Coxe and his daughter, contains over 100,000 historical prints and negatives of Greenville, South Carolina, from the late 1800s through the 1900s, including photographs from the textile industry and expositions. The Coxe Collection is housed separately at Bob Jones University in Greenville; additional information can be found at http://www2.bju.edu/resources/library/departments/coxe.html.

Open for research by appointment, except the Coxe Collection: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. & Monday - Thursday, 6:15 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Appointments recommended.

Greenville County Library System

Greenville. Web site has link to online catalog for library system. the Stow South Carolina Historical Room of the Main Library collects local history, and the library has a number of publications relating to the textile industry in the Upstate, especially Greenville County.

Greenwood Mills, Inc. Archives

Address:
104 Maxwell Ave.
Greenwood, SC 29646

Individual in charge of historical records program: Anna Culbertson, Consultant

Telephone: (864) 229-2571, ext: 2149

Collections

Dates: 1889 - present

Volume: Not available (in collection stage).

Scope and contents of collection
Paper records, photographs, sound recordings, video tapes, newspapers, and books related to the Self family, the textile industry, Greenwood Mills Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Open for research Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Appointments recommended.

Pendleton District Commission

Facility address:
Hunter's Store
125 E. Queen St.
Pendleton, SC 29670

Mailing address:
PO Box 565
Pendleton, SC 29670

Individual in charge of historical records program: Donna Roper, Assistant Director

Telephone: (864) 646-3782

Fax: (864) 646-2506

E-mail: pendtour@innova.net

Collections

Dates: 1790 - 1960s

Volume:
Paper records 243.0 lin. ft.
All records 310.0 lin. ft.

Scope and contents of collection
Materials relates mainly to the three-county Pendleton District area: Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties. Special collections include Anderson Cotton Mill, 1895-1963.

Open for research Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Appointments not necessary.

Historical Center of York County

.Web site is searchable; has summary descriptions of some of the collections held by the Center. Has material relating to the cotton industry in York County. 

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MUSEUMS

Anderson County Museum

Anderson. New museum under construction; will have exhibits relating to textile industry in Anderson County.

South Carolina Cotton Museum

Bishopville. Museum focuses on the cotton culture in the state and the uses of cotton.

South Carolina State Museum, Columbia

Columbia. Has exhibits relating to the textile industry in the state.

Greenville Regional History Museum

Greenville. New museum under construction; will have exhibits relating to textile industry in Greenville County.

Greenwood Museum

Greenwood. Has exhibits relating to textile industry in Greenwood County and the surrounding area.

Regional Museum of History of Spartanburg County

Spartanburg. Has exhibits relating to textile industry in Spartanburg County.

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TEXTILE COMPANIES

Aiken

Beaulieu of America

Greenville

Mount Vernon Mills

Southern Weaving Company

Varinit Corporation

Lancaster

Springs Industries, Inc.

Spartanburg

Inman Mills (Inman)

Milliken and Company

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RELATED LINKS

Textile History Consortium

Georgia Textile History Resources (Georgia State University)

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Comments Jim Cross