The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-12-11
WARES SHOALS ON SALUDA
A Model Mill Vi11agc---Dan,
to Cost 100000 in Course
of Construction.

OF Constructions.
Greenwood Daily Index.
Wares Shoals on the Saluda is
situated about fifteen miles, roughly
speaking, northeast of Greenwood, =,
IOur miles east or l}armorc's, q little
flag station on the Southern between
Hodges and Donnalds, and twelve miles
west Of Laurens. The shoals hero
have a considerable fall in the course
of the river producing natural power,
the value Of which has been recognized
for some time. The earliest settlers
Oh the river no doubt saw tho value OF
the falls, for shoals arc only water.
falls on an extended scale, and, here as
at many other places, erected mills.
The Old mill orcct, d in The long ago at
Wares Shoals is ;lill stanIing. Ii is
know as Rasor's mill from the fact
that its last owner and operator was IL
MIR. Ras0r. There are number of
families of that name living in the up
per sections of Greenwood and Laurcns
counties.
There have been numerous plans
and schemes proposed to develop the
great power now gong to waste at
Wares Shoals. At one time years ago
when the Carolina, Knoxville and
Western Railroad was not only sur
veycd, but even graded right to the
shoals, it seemed as If something would
really bo done. The road went The
way OF many roads, however, which is
to say that it never amounted 10 any.
thing and the dreams Of promoters and
investors vanished like many other
pipe dreams. The old road bed is still
visible and can be traced after leaving
Greenwood a few miles all the way to
the shoals. This road, it will he re
membcred, was to take IN Cokcsbury, :,
and its fast disappearing grades can be
seen in that town.
Three or four years ago, many prom
mincnt business men of I.aurcns and
some Of Greenwood interested them
selves in the possibilities of Warc's
Shoals, and as the common say ing has
it "began fcclin' around" to see what
could be done. The first thing TO do
was to secure enough land on both
sides of the river both at and above
the shoals for The purposes of large
manufacturing enterprise, such as they
proposed to build. The land at the
shoals and that near by was bought at
once outright and the different mem
bcrs began taking options on other
property until they secured enough for
the proposed development. The first
land cost in the ncighborhood of ten
dollars an acre, it is said, and the last
brought the gilt-edgcd price of fifty
dollars an acre. The land having
been secured, the next step was or.
ganization. The man who then came
to the front and who has still kept his
place was Nat b. Dial, banker and
attorney-at-law, of Laurens. Mr.. Dia
has been untiring in his efforts t<
make the project success and il is b,
no means out of place to say that tn,
project, thanks to his efforts, is a sue
cess. lie has succeeded in intcrestin!
some OF the most prominent mill mel
IN this and othcr States in the work
and he will soon have the pleasure O
seeing the waters Of Saluda dashed IN
TO foam by the great turbines of tn
Wares Shoals Company's Powe
House and the power thus wrestc
from the river carried across hills an
valleys and turning the thousands c
spindles OF the cotton mill o mil
away.
The plans and specifications for tn
dam, power house, ETC., were draw
} by W. Gibhes Whaley, the we'll know
engineer of Columbia and Boston. Th
contract for building the dam an
power house was given to Snyder
Oates, g Co., of Gastonia, N. G.. Z
j. Snyder, of this firm, is quite we
/ known here. He was located for
short while at Quarry near town, whcr
3 he had charge of the rock quarrie
1 there, and furnished considerabl
: granite for use in the different built