The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-01-24


Fifteen years ago, the work of build.
ing a factory on the shoals of the Saluds
river, twelve miles from Greenville where
the towns of Piedmont now stands, was
begun. Since then q mighty story OF
industrial enterprise and progress has
been sculptured on the red, rugged and
rock. ribbed hills of the place. First a
big cotton mill, then the largest in the
up.county, was built, then another was
Joined to it, doubling the original mill,
and to-day third mill equal in size and
capacity to the two old mills combined,
is going up.
The Piedmont Manufacturing Compa-
ny, of which Colonel H. P. Hammett has
been the president and moving spirit
since its organization, began the build
ing of its mill in 1873. The work was
temporarily suspended by the panic that
came on in September of that year,
practically paralyzing the commercial
! and industrial world. The work was
taken up again the next year and was
finished in 1875. In March, 1876, the
machinery was started and the first cloth
! was mladse.. The mill was then not fully
out6tted, but in 1873 the machinery was
all put in. At that time, II, 900 spinales
! and 24O looms were in use. The compa.
ny's capital was sas4oOO.
The wisdom of the Investment showed
itself from the frat, and it was decided
to double the capacity Of the original
mill. Mill "No. 2" was begun in 1881,
being an extension of the first building
and considerably larger. It was COM
pleted in 1882. The two mills then had
| 24,02O spindles and 568 looms. Of the
spindles, 5000 were operated on yarn
which was not woven but doubled, and
twisted and sold iii: That form. For the
building Of the new factory, the capital
had been increased from s334,0O0 to
| $500, 900, atwhich it now stands.
The business prospered So rapidly and
uniformly y,thatthe company il. January,
1888, resolved On still.another extension.
This timeit was determined to double
the then capacity Of the mill, making it
four times the size Of the original factory.
The contract for Mill"No.S" aslet out
and work begun in the early spring. 1t
has been pushed rapidly and the new
building is now completed to the third
floor and will be ready for the roof in the
space of few weeks. The new mill
have 81 l,5O4 spindlese and 744 looms.
When it is completed aud equipped the
Piedmont Mills vii: operate 45,524 spin
dies and 1 ,3l2 looms, making it one Of
the very largest cotton mills in the. South,
ifnot the largest.
The history Of the beginnings of the en-.
terprise is full Of ofinterest. The.frst mill
was built through the panic which,
beginning in 1873, did not loose it's effect
till '7s.. Everything was depressed and
it was with the. greatest difficulty that
sufficient capital was raised to complete
the mill. 1t vas before the close ofthe
reconstruction period in the State when
there Was a great decentralization and
want of confidence by everybody in
everything. The enterprise being the
pioneer large MILL in the upper part
Of the State, its success vas looked upon
by its friends as matter Of the gravest
doubt. Very fen had confidence in its
ultimate completion and success. These
facts made the enterprise ofgreat moment
to the manufacturing industry in this
section. Had it failed it was believed
not at all likely that another effort to
build large cotton mill in upper South
Carolina would have been made in the
next quarter ofa century.
But the enterprise was not destined te
fail. It's president and his hackers
we're not the stamp of men to allow il
to 20 under and its SUCCESS seemed to be
assured from the start. The mill has
never run month without a net profit
and an annual dividend of 10 per cent
has been declared regularly since 1878
Moreover, the mill built in 1881 and the
greatnew mill now constructing will have
been practically built out Of the accumu'
lated profits of the mill in addition Il
the yearly dividends. The present capi'
tai of 100000 will probably be increas
ed, twenty or perhaps forty per cent. bu
the increase is intended principally fol
use as commercial capital. Althongt
the stockholders have actually paid il
but s5OO,O0O, the property ofthe company
when the new mill is completed will b.
worth, according to the estimate of s
distinguished mill constructor, 81, ,20O,0 900
and could not be replaced for less thar
that sum.
The population of Piedmont in 1871
was 250. To-day there are in the village
/, 500 people connected with the mill, ant
when the new mill is in operation tina
will be doubled and the population nil
reach the neighborhood of 5000 people
Of these 1 200 will be directly employed
in and about the factories. The presen
annual pay roll of the Piedmont Com
pany is $4,000, which will be swellet
to $220,O00 by the starting of the new
mill. To minister TO the wants of thi
large population, material, mental ant
spiritual, there are three general mer
chandise stores, large and we'll stocked
kept by Nesbit & Trowbridge, PER-,
Brothers and T. E. Mckenzie, Son & Co.
and drug store by DR.. ], II. Donnald
public school run eleven months in tn
year at the expense ofthe company, Mrs
A. S. Rowell with two assistants being il