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Piedmont Community Building and future museum. (Winter, 2007) |
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Piedmont, SC History
Population:
Piedmont is unincorporated. It is a public service district providing fire protection, recreation, and sewer services to residents within the district.
Offices/Headquarters:
Piedmont Fire Department
Hwy. 86
P. O. Box 57
Piedmont, South Carolina 29673
Phone: (864) 845-6817
(864) 845-7401
Fax (864)845-3062
Government:
Elected officials serve terms on the Piedmont Public Service District of Anderson and Greenville Counties.
Piedmont Public Service District Board of Commissioners:
Ed Poore - Chairman
Al McAbee, Jr., - Vice Chairman
Lib Pack
Rudy Rhodes
Bob Stover
T. B. Wallace - Fire Chief and Administrator
Craig Lawless - Secretary
History
Piedmont Chronological History
Piedmont History
More Piedmont History
Founding of Piedmont
Fire Department History
Fire Department 2002
PIEDMONT CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY (compiled by Don Roper, Piedmont, S.C.):
1746: David Garrison Born.
1770: Pearl Springs School Organized on Shiloh Church Road.
1790: David Garrison lives in Greenville County
1822: Henry Pinckney Hammett born in Laurens County.
1843: Grist mill and log cabin built at Garrison Shoals.
1856: Grove Station Baptist Church organized.
Dec. 26, 1848: Tea planted on Golden Grove Tea Plantation by Junius Smith.
July 4, 1851: “Now I have before me a pot of fresh tea from my own plantation, the first I have enjoyed,” Junius Smith says.
Dec. 23, 1852: Junius Smith attacked at his home in Grove Station, seriously injured.
Jan. 25, 1853: Junius Smith dies as a result of his injuries.
1860: Shiloh Mehtodist Church organized.
1862: Garrison Shoals property bought by William Bates and Co.
1865: Shiloh Methodist Church used as a school, first teacher was Robert King. April 30, 1873: Piedmont Manufacturing Company organized at the Court House in Greenville. On motion, it was “Resolved that the station on the Greenville and Columbia Railroad and the village be called Piedmont.” Henry P. Hammett, elected president.
Feb. 13, 1874: Corporation known as Piedmont Manufacturing Company chartered by the State of South Carolina.
May 13, 1874: Stockholders adopted the charter as issued by the State of South Carolina.
Oct. 3, 1874: Cornerstone Laid.
Oct. 15, 1874: Cornerstone Maliciously torn open and some items stolen. Resealed.
1875 & 1876: The first mill building was constructed on the Greenville County side of the Saluda River.
Jan., 1876: First Sunday School organized.
March 15, 1876: Water turned on for first time. First bale of cotton opened by Mr. W.J. McElreath and his son; McElreath Street named for this family. First spinning machinery started up. First bale of cotton used in mill bought from Silas F. Trowbridge of Grove Station. He bought the first bale of cloth, a 36” sheeting which was sold in his store.
March 20, 1876: J.W. Rounds, superintendent.
April 1876: First cloth manufactured in Piedmont No. 1.
July 1, 1876: Mill considered in full operation.
Nov. 4, 1876: Piedmont Methodist Church organized by the Rev. R.R. Dagnall, Pastor.
Feb. 24, 1877: James Champion Osteen born.
1877: Royal Kallock, superintendent.
1878: C.A. Davenport, superintendent.
1879: A.R. Steele, superintendent.
1879: Union Church building built by the mill.
Dec. 29, 1879: Piedmont First Baptist Church organized, meeting in the old plantation house on Hotel Hill.
1880: Mill Building No. 2 built in Greenville County.
1880: First school building built and teacher hired. The first school had 80 students enrolled. Wooden school was constructed near Union Church.
May 18, 1880: Piedmont Presbyterian Church organized, the Rev. C.L. Stewart was pastor.
1880: First cloth exported to China.
1883: J.P. Iler, superintendent.
1888: Mill Building No. 3 built in Anderson County.
1890: Waco School built, first teacher was John Watson.
June 22, 1890: Land given to the Baptists for a church on Hotel Hill near the reservoir.
July 26, 1891: Piedmont First Baptist church building dedicated
May 8, 1891: H.P. Hammett dies.
May 13, 1891 – June 19, 1891: R.L. McCaughrin served as president.
June 19, 1891: J.L. Orr elected president.
July 26, 1891: Piedmont First Baptist Church building dedicated, pastor was T.M. Galphin.
1891: W.F. Walker, superintendent.
May 11, 1892: Land deeded to Piedmont Methodist Church, church built on Hotel Hill.
Sept. 1, 1893: Lula Timmerman dies. Mother later sees face of Christ in coffee grounds settled in saucer. Mr. A.S. Rowell had picture made which circulated nationwide.
1893: Piedmont Presbyterian Church built in Anderson County.
1894 (Spring): Piedmont Presbyterian Church dedicated by Dr. J. Lowery.
1895: Mill Building No. 4 built in Greenville County on Academy Street.
1900: Wooden school for grammar grades built in Anderson County.
Dec. 3, 1903: Ten wooden buildings in downtown burn.
Feb. 26, 1905: Col. James L. Orr dies.
Feb. 1, 1904: S.T. Buchanan, superintendent.
March 11, 1905: William E. Beattie elected president.
1915: Waco and Shiloh schools merged and new school built at Rock Hill, first principal was Jack Ballard.
1918: “The Bridge,” a monthly paper is started with Mr. A.S. Rowell as editor. Subscription price “Cross the bridge and help each other,” was distributed free to all homes in the village.
Jan., 1919: Installation of electricity completed in the houses and buildings of the town.
1920: Rock Hill School enlarged, first principal was Miss Ollie Simpson, later Mrs. Homer Long.
1920: Piedmont High School built on church Street (brick).
1921: Southern Textile Basketball Tournament started in Greenville.
1922: Mr. A.S. Rowell dies, buried in Rose Hill Cemetery. Mr. Doggett named editor of “Bridge.”
May 9, 1923: William E. Beattie resigns as president of Piedmont Manufacturing Company. S.M. Beattie Elected to succeed his father.
1925: “Bridge” ceases publication.
1927: Piedmont Manufacturing Company sold to the Beattie family by the heirs of H.P. Hammett.
Sept. 18, 1931: Pay rates: Sweeper, $.12/hour; Fixer: $.31/hour.
March, 1933: Piedmont High School wins State basketball Championship in Class B.
June 26, 1933: S.T. Buchanan dies.
July 1, 1933: Carl Moore, superintendent.
June, 1935: Ben Underwood, superintendent.
March, 1936: Piedmont High School wins Class “B” state title.
1936: W.E. Beattie Memorial Grammar School built on Academy street.
1938: New Brick Rock Hill School built by W.P.A.
Dec. 1, 1938: V.J. Lipscomb, superintendent.
June 6, 1938: New grandstand at Buchanan Field holds first game, Appleton wins 6-2.
1946: S.M. Beattie steps down as president when mill is sold.
1946: Piedmont Manufacturing Co. sold to J.P. Stevens and Co., Inc.
Jan. 1, 1949: V.J. Lipscomb, manager; J. Harvey Clevland Jr., superintendent.
March 1950: Piedmont High School wins Class “B” state basketball championship with a record of 28-0.
June 21, 1950: V.J. Lipscomb dies.
June, 1950: R. Carter Henry, manager.
1950: Houses sold to employees.
1950; US Census shows 5,000 people living in Piedmont.
Feb, 15, 1953: Ground breaking held for new Grove Station Baptist Church.
June 7, 1953: New Grove Station Baptist Church dedicated, Dr. Furman S. Rivers, speaker.
1954: Paul W. Nipper Jr., superintendent.
1958: Paul W. Nipper Jr., manager.
March, 1958: Piedmont Plant wins Class “A” Championship in Southern Textile Basketball Tournament for the first time; last year held in old textile hall.
1958: V.T. Jenkins, superintendent.
March, 1959: Piedmont Plant wins Class “A” Title again, first year held in new Greenville Memorial Auditorium.
1959: Ed H. Stall, manager
Dec. 14, 1962: James Champion Osteen dies
1962: Piedmont High School discontinued, changed to Jr. High.
1962: W.E. Beattie School closed.
1962: “The Saluda Valley Record,” a weekly paper starts publishing.
Aug. 12, 1963: First dirt moved at site of Estes Plant, eventually over 600,000 cubic yards were moved.
Sept. 5, 1963: First concrete poured at Estes Plant, over 12,500 cubic yards were poured. Over 2,000,000 brick were used.
Sept. 23, 1963: First steel erection begun at Estes Plant, weighing over 980 tons.
Oct. 15, 1963: Roof installation started at Estes Plant.
Oct. 16, 1963: Concrete floors started at Estes.
March 1, 1964: First loom started up at Estes.
June 13, 1964: Estes open house for other Stevens plants.
June 16, 1964: Open House and dedication ceremonies held at Estes Plant. Final cost over $6,000,000.
June 20, 1964: Estes Open House for the public.
1964: J.P. Stevens started rug plant in old Piedmont No. 1, renamed as Maples Plant No. 2.
1965; Estes Plant named a Top Ten Plant of the United States.
1965: Piedmont Jr. High closes.
1965: “Saluda Valley Record” ceases publication, subscribers receive “The Williamston Journal.”
1966: J.A. Copple, assistant superintendent.
1966: Maple Plant No. 2 closed. Old mill used to store cloth for Estes and Piedmont.
1967: Old Piedmont High School building burned.
1968: Joe E. Hiott, assistant superintendent.
1971: Pioneer Plant closed.
1971: Estes takes back over the old mill complex on the river in Greenville County. Called Piedmont Warehouse, storing old machinery and cloth. A corduroy cutting unit was installed in the basement of the building.
Dec., 1971: Norman F. Chandler, assistant superintendent.
1973: David J. Worthington, manager.
1974: Jim Herring, Piedmont Plant superintendent.
1976: J.W. Woodc Jr., Piedmont Plant manager; V.T. Jenkins, Estes Plant manager.
1977: Mr. Wood to Estes and Mr. Jenkins to Piedmont.
July 26, 1976: Estes Plant modernized at a cost of $19 million.
1977: E.F. Robbins Jr., manager.
1979: John Paul Poston, manager; Sam Ashley, yarn superintendent; W.A. “Bill” Burch, weaving superintendent; Mr. Wood back to Piedmont.
August, 1981: Corduroy cutting unit closed and moved to Greer.
April, 1981: Piedmont Warehouse closed and building sold to Aquenergy.
1982: S.E. Ball, Piedmont Plant manager.
1983: John T. Tatham, Piedmont Plant manager.
Oct. 26, 1983: Mill Buildings in Greenville County burn.
1984: Sam Ashley, superintendent of manufacturing; H. Gary Rogers, administrative manager.
1984: Jim Vassey, Piedmont Plant manager.
Feb., 1985: Piedmont Plant in Anderson County closed.
1985: First issue of “The Piedmont Informer” is published.
June 30, 1986; Estes Plant sold to Delta Mills Marketing Company, part of Delta Woodside Industries. Edwin Maddrey, Chairman of the Board; Bill Garrett, president of the company; Paul Poston, manager of the plant.
1987: Clarence Gibson, manager.
1990: David Sloan, manager.
April 27, 1990: First Annual Footbridge Festival, sponsored by Bonnes Amies Club.
April 28, 1991: Second Annual Footbridge Festival.
PIEDMONT HISTORY (compiled by Don Roper, Piedmont, S.C.):
Piedmont: A spot on the Saluda River where the sparkling water rushes over huge rocks on its way from the mountains to the sea. The place has had several names; the Indians and early settlers called it “Big Shoals of the Saluda,” later it was Garrison Shoals and then Piedmont.
From the time the Indians used the big rocks of the shoals as a crossing, through the several bridges, Piedmont has been a crossroads for generations.
The five foot red headed Irishman, David Garrison, built his grist mill upon the shoals, giving it its second name, Garrison Shoals. About this time around 1850, the first bridge was built, a covered wooden bridge. During the early part of the century, a more modern steel span was added, and in 1948 the present cement structure.
When Henry Pinckney Hammett, son-in-law of William Bates, builder of the first successful cotton mill in Greenville County, bought the property for his cotton mill, using the water power of the shoals, the name was again changed, this time to Piedmont, “Foot of the Mountains.” This name was added to his charter for Piedmont Manufacturing Company and also as a railroad station.
Mr. Hammett and his cotton mill are the reason there is a Piedmont today. Being stalled by the War Between the States, Mr. Hammett was finally able to begin producing cloth in 1876, but not before a problem for which he found a unique solution.
When he ran short of money, He made a trip up north to where the Textile Machinery Manufacturers were located. he obtained financing to complete his mill by offering stock in his company as payment for the machinery he needed to start production. Saco Lowell and Whitin Machine Works furnished his needs and production began.
Some of the Saco Lowell original machinery, as modified, was still operating in 1964.
The company continued after his death in 1893 with the Beattie family from Greenville taking over and running it until 1946 when the giant chain run by J.P. Stevens and Co. Inc. took it over.
The water power was used to produce electricity to run the machinery in the 1880s and also furnished the employees homes from the 1920s until Duke Power expanded after WWII.
The Piedmont Plants operated continuously until 1964, when Stevens built the modern Estes Plant about two miles away from the Saluda Shoals. Moving most of the employees and part of the machinery, Estes is still being operated today as a part of Delta Woodside Industries who bought it from Stevens in 1983.
Mr. Hammett’s original building burned in 1983 and the Anderson County plant was completely torn down by 1995.
Over the years Piedmont had the reputation of turning out quality products, being the first to export cloth to China in the late 1880s through the 1930s. Another name given to Piedmont was “School of Superintendents,” as over the years scores of the South’s Mills were presided over by graduates of Piedmont.
Another credit for the Piedmont Mills was an early library, Lyceum, YMCA, for both men and women. Schools for the children of workers and support for churches in the community.
In the early 1870s, Hammett reached up to the north, Connecticut, and hired a “yankee veteran,” Albert Smith Rowell, to come work in his mill. Rowell, besides working as a bossman in the clothroom, ran the above mentioned programs for Mr. Hammett, although early history of our region does not give him any credit.
Rowell was also the town postmaster, and editor of “The Bridge,” a monthly paper printed by the mills from 1918 until his death in 1922. In the latter part of the 19th century he started a program for young boys of the community, calling them Young Explorers. They were a forerunner of today’s Boy Scouts who didn’t get started until 1909 in England. He was truly an outstanding man.
Today, the town is a commuter neighborhood, more than a mill town, with the area around the Saluda River’s Big Shoals hosting a population of over 16,000. Several small businesses are located in the community, and with I-85 being only four miles away, it is still an enticing location for more.
MORE PIEDMONT HISTORY (compiled by Don Roper, Piedmont, S.C.):
Albert Smith Rowell was a supervisor or “bossman” in the clothroom at the Piedmont Mills in the 1870s. He also served as the town postmaster and editory of “The Bridge,” a monthly paper printed by the mills from 1918 until his death in 1922.
This is a reprint of one of his articles:
“Now the main object of the “Bridge” is to disseminate information that will bring the whole people of Piedmont together and in touch with each other, to inspire the strong to help the weak, help the weak to get on higher ground. This cannot be done by living “hermit” lives, so let us get together.”
Several of his articles and editorials are listed next, covering his wide range of interests and giving of information and guidance to the readers of Piedmont.
THE FOUNDING OF PIEDMONT (compiled by Don Roper, Piedmont, S.C.):
Since the village of Piedmont was founded, two generations have come upon the stage of life, and few of our inhabitants know anything of the early history of the place.
A few words on this subject may not come amiss. Prior to the year 1873 or 45 years ago this locality was known as “The Big Shoals of the Saluda.” It was indeed a wild section, a mass of wildwood and jungle growth. However, the lands with the water power had been previously purchased by Col. H.P. Hammett during the last days of the Civil War. Col. Hammett also had some experience in the management of a small mill at Batesville in this county, and being a man of great business capacity and broad vision, he saw the possibilities of a great enterprise in his purchase.
The paralyzed condition of all undertakings in consequence of the war made it a difficult matter to interest capital in the venture. Southern men did not have the money and northern men did not believe that a cotton mill could be successfully run in the South. They thought the climate was not adapted to good spinning, and that it would be impossible to obtain skilled labor to operate the plant profitably. This fallacy obtained in the north for a good many years, but is now exploded, and northern capital is glad of the hance to invest in southern mills today.
By the year 1873 a charter had been obtained and work was begun on mill No. 1, but because of the great panic of that year, operations were suspended for a while. They were taken up again in 1874 and the building was finished in 1875. In March, 1876, the machinery was started and the first cloth was made (it was good cloth too).
The mill was not then fully equipped, but in 1878 the machinery was all put in, at that time there were 11,000 spindles and 240 looms. The company capital was $334,000. Mill no. 2 was completed in 1882, the two mills then had 24,020 spindles and 568 looms, of the spindles, 6,000 were on yarns.
In 1888, mill no. 3 on the Anderson side of the river was built, and still later mill no. 4 was erected on the Greenville side. So much for the mills.
Piedmont Fire Department (2002)
September, 2002 - Piedmont firefighters include: Chief Jerry L. Nichols; Assistant Chief Tracy B. Wallace; Capt. Bobby Higgins, Capt. Norman Wynn, Lt. Terry Yates, Lt. Grady Reeves, Lt. Dustin Allen.
Also Craig Lawless, engineer/inspector/paramedic; Joey Gillespie, engineer/inspector/EMT; Eric Shirley, engineer, paramedic and engineers: Mark McClain, James H. Hyde, Jason Thompson, Robert Bolden, Dustin Grogan, dispatcher.
Sylvia D. Brown, administrative assistant.
Volunteer firefighters at the Piedmont Fire Department include: Lt. Alan Rampey, Gene Allen, Wilton Davis, Alan Bleucis, Patrick Peden, Calvin Duckett, Curt Gautier, Al McAbee, Byron Wynn, Clayton Allen, Steve Hudson, George Hudson, George Wessel.
Other volunteers include Grady Davis, traffic; Pete Hawthorne, mechanic and Stan Styles, maintenance.
Piedmont Public Service District Board of Commissioners include Al McAbee, Fred Glenn, C. E. “Ed” Poore Jr., J. C. “Goob” Turner and Marsha Rogers, Chairman.
Bonnie Merritt and M. O. Howard serve as trustees.
History of the Piedmont Fire Department
(Complied by Assistant Chief Tracy Wallace - 2002)
Piedmont Fire Department History
1948 - J. P. Stevens Company formed the Piedmont Fire Department. Equipment included a 1948 Chevrolet Peter Pirsh fire truck and shop employees served as firefighters.
1971 - A 1971 Ford John Beam fire truck apparatus was purchased. It was kept in the mill parking lot.
1972 - Construction was started on a fire department in the old mill parking lot on Hwy. 86. The depratment has an ISO rating of Class 9.
1973 - The new station was dedicated, the first paid fire chief was hired and the department had an $8,000 budget and an ISO Class 5 rating.
1975 - A 1975 Ford John Beam fire truck was purchased.
1977 - Three firefighters and a fire chief was hired.
1981 - Construction was started on Station #2 on Golf Course Road. Three firefighters were hired to man the station and one fire prevention officer were hired. A service truck was added at headquarters and ISO rating was Class 3.
1983 - A 1983 Ford Boyer fire truck was purchased.
1985 - Three dispatchers were hired.
1992 - Three additional firefighters were hired.
1993 - New facilities were built at headquarters.
1996 - A new Ford 350 EVI service truck was purchased.
1998 - New computers for records, mapping and hazmat response were added.
2002 - Two Freightliner E-One fire trucks were purchased.
In 2002, the department had 10 paid firefighters, three dispatch/firefighters, one assistant chief, one fire chief/administrator, one administrative assistant, 15 volunteer firefighters. The 2002 budget was $896,000 and the department had an ISO rating of Class 3.
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