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Pelzer History
Clubs and organizations
Town of Pelzer SC
Population: 97
Incorporated:
City Offices:
103 Courtney St.
PO Box 427
Pelzer, SC 29669
Phone: (864) 947-6231
Fax: (864) 947-6266
City Government / Elected Officials:
Non- partison. Elected officials serve two-year terms with terms expiring on alternate years. Pelzer town council meets on the first Friday of each month.
Mayor:
Kenneth Davis
Telephone: (864) 947-6231
Town Council:
Donna Ide
Stephen k. McGregor
Sandra Ragsdale
Tony M. Riddle
Appointed Officials:
Clerk/Treasurer - Lyle K Watkins (864) 947-6266
Public Works - Jeff Bruce (864) 947-6266
Police - Anderson County Sheriff
Fire - West Pelzer Fire Department
State officials:
SC Senator: William H. O'Dell
SC Representative: Michael D. Thompson, Daniel T. Cooper
Brief History:
Pelzer is located along the Saluda River in eastern Anderson County. The incorporated portion of the town is
only a small part of the two mill villages, upper and lower, that make up what is commonly known as Pelzer.
The town was founded in the 1800's along with the Pelzer Manufacturing Co. A pioneer in the use of electricity, the company bought the first power generators made by the fledgling General Electric Co., to run its two mills, one of them the largest in the United States at the time. A consolidated hydro station with two dams still generates power on the Saluda River.
The two mills have been torn down and only a few buildings and debris mark the sites of the upper and lower mills around which the town was built.
At one time, the Southern Railroad tracks separated Pelzer from West Pelzer.
News 2010
Possibilities being considered for Pelzer Recreation site
Possibilities being considered
for Pelzer Recreation site
By Stan Welch
Plans to develop ninety two acres of land owned by the town of Pelzer appear to be gathering momentum, according to a meeting of concerned parties last week.
Mayor Kenneth Davis and Harry Marchant, head of the Friends of Pelzer, met with Anderson County Recreation Planner Matt Schell, Seamon Whitesides’ representative and local planner Blake Sanders and Clemson graduate student Jonathan Williams to discuss the future designs for those ninety two acres.
The tract is the site of the town’s wastewater holding ponds, which are slated for closing and filling. Bids for that work are currently being sought, and the process of closing and remediating the two ponds is expected to take at least eighteen months.
But the site offers possibilities for design and construction along the perimeters of the property, while the ponds, which occupy the center of the basically oblong tract, are being closed and filled.
At a meeting in November to discuss the plans for developing the upper mill site, Marchant and Mayor Davis expressed their hopes for the 90 acre tract currently occupied by the town’s wastewater lagoons. The plan is based on the town’s growing need for recreational facilities. The town is currently involved in a major project to upgrade their sewer system, and the closing and restoration of the lagoon site is a required part of that project.
Mayor Davis says that the town has approximately 600 children involved in the baseball and football programs. Currently the town has two baseball fields that double as football fields. If and when the lagoon site is restored and funding can be obtained, Davis and Marchant see a facility with two more baseball or softball fields, two multi-purpose fields, practice fields, walking tracks, a kayak launch site, a nature center and a pavilion.
Both are quick to acknowledge that such a grand plan will take time. “We’re years down the road on that, but as Pelzer and the surrounding area continues to grow as a bedroom community for Greenville, these kinds of facilities will be a great attraction,” said Marchant in November.
Williams’ involvement in designing the project as part of his graduate work has accelerated the process, and made Davis and others hopeful that funding may be available sooner than they had thought. Their schedule remains realistic, however, since all involved are aware that funding dictates all progress. “The funding will dictate how the construction is phased in over the coming years,” said Sanders, who works for the design firm Seamon Whitesides, and who lives in West Pelzer.
Williams was encouraged to “think outside the box” in terms of what he could bring to the design. “Think in terms of different amenities,” said Sanders. “A pavilion, an amphitheater for concerts, possibly camping or lodging for kayakers and others traveling the river – these kind of things are what draw attention and funding.”
Clubs & Organizations
Pelzer Historic Society
There is for the first time in the one hundred plus years of Pelzer, South Carolina history, a historical society dedicated to preserving, restoring, and publishing when advisable its history.
From the Pelzer Manufacturing Company’s inception in the minds of those honorable men from Charleston, South Carolina to this present day of March 17, 2008, the Pelzer SC area was and still is a unique point of history in the use of electricity. It was the first place in the world to ever have electricity generated at a distance specifically for manufacturing purposes. It was this history that inspired us to initiate the beginning of a National Historic District for the Pelzer, South Carolina area in November of 2007, thanks to the assistance of the Town of Pelzer and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
We also initiated a preservation project of preserving sports photographs in the Historic Pelzer Gym. The product we recommended and proceeded to implement included none other than the best frames from our preservation company resource Light Impressions. We also initiated a continuous oral history project for our archives. We participated in the Pelzer Christmas Holiday Fair of 2007 among other celebrations and historic functions. Our latest preservation building project includes the Historic Pelzer Library on Courtney (Courtenay) ST Pelzer, SC.
Research on Pelzer history was initiated since before our beginning and continues to unfold to this day. We understand, just like fellow history buffs or preservationists understand, the magnitude of work involved in preserving history and the importance of milestones in those efforts. We take this moment, this day, to recognize and celebrate the reason for this letter.
It is with great pleasure that we announce the Community of Pelzer Historical Society as officially incorporated.
We received special assistance from Nick Gambrell, Curator, of the Oconee Heritage Center, Jackie Reynolds, the President of the Pendleton Historic Commission, Brad Sauls of the Department of Archives and History and those of the Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston, SC. I personally thank one who inspired our early efforts and provided words of encouragement: Mr. Ben Hornsby Jr. Thank you. I also personally thank those who have been a continuous source of inspiration: the Smyth descendants of Captain Ellison Adger Smyth, the listed President and Treasurer of the Pelzer Manufacturing Company.
For More Information contact:
Beth Rostron
President
Community of Pelzer Historical Society
Pelzer, SC 29669
864.947.8817
email: brostroncphs@gmail.com