Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-09-20
LOOKING BACKWARD
Latham Writes OF First Spinning
Mill in Chester.
A CRUDE But SERVICEABLE AFFAIR
First Mill Used Only 800 Bales of Cot
ton Year-Destroyed by Sher-
mans Army in 1865.

SOuLn CAUSED DS lhe ASSul'o Va "
Civil war was the evolution of the
textile indu btry, which hitherto had
almost exclusively been confined to
the New England states.
The first fulling mill operated south
of Virginia was built near the mouth
of Fishing Creek where it empties in
to the Catawba river, in Chester coun-
ty. This mill was built about the
year 17SS, and was used for dyeing'
fulling and pressing the cloth woven
by the persons in this vicinity and was
said to have been done in very salts
factory manner. This was at first con-
fined entirely to woolen cloth but
gradually extended its operations to
cotton cloth.
In the early part of the 18th century
nearly every family had its spinning
wheel and hand loom. There were
two varieties of spinning wheels. One
operated by hand while the operator
walked back and forth drawing out
the thread. After the style of mule
spinning, lIllS lGquAl GU WY ''SN'N ''N''H
to operate and was mostly used by
negro women to spin yarn to be woven
into cloth for the slaves on the larger
plantations, and also, to utilize the
labor of the negro women during the
winter months. The other variety
was operated by foot power and was
used mostly by white woman sitting
by the side of the wheel and work
ing il with her feet, like working =
sewing machine. This made much
smoother and finer yarn than the other
wheel. After the yarn was spun Il
was then reeled off the spools by q
hand reel into hanks and then taken
to a waiper, and finally to the loom
where it was woven. \ good weaver
could weave about four yards 4 day OF
plain cloth throwing one shuttle, or, Il
wooden jeans with two shuttles, two
or three yards.
The raw wool and cotton were card
ed into rolls with hand cards about
a foot and four inches wide, equipped
with wire teeth. One of these was
held stationary on the kneeIand cotton
or wool was placed on it's teeth, with
the other side this was carded untll
the fibers were Strengthened out, then
il was taken off in roll \ cardor
could card about as many of these
rolls as n spinner could spin.
In the early SOS Mr.. Daniel Nc
Cullough built Il spinning mill on
Catawba river near where the Repub-
lie Cotton Mills now stands. The
Fingervile Mill in Spartanburg coun-
" and the old Saluda Mill in Lex
ington county antcdatcd this mil
few years. Mr.. Mccullough operated
this by water power obtained from
the Catawba river. The operators
were all slaves from his plantation eX-
cent the superintendent and heads ol
the different departments and the cot
ton used for spinning was chiefly
grown onI his own plantation. the
yarns produced were course, numbers
SIS. los and 12's, and were put up IN
five and ten pound bales, which he
peddled out through Chester and ad-
Joining counties. selling to the mer-
chants who in turn sold them to the
different families to be woven into
cloth. This yarn was mostly used FOR
warps. the filling being spun in these
homes on spinning wheels.
A bale of cotton at this time weigh
ed about 200 pounds.
This mill was Il very crude al1aur
in comparison with the present day
cotton mill. 1t did not use more than
three hundred bales of cotton in Il
year. but paid Mr.. Mccullough 4 very
rood profit on his raw cotton. When
Sherman's &rmy passed through TINS
section in 1865 it was burned together
with everything else in his line OF
march. Mr.. Mccullough died shortly
ortcr and the mill was never rebuilt.
u Iis property finally fell into the
possession of the Southern Power
company. end now ihc Republic Cotton
mills, a magnificent manufacturing
nIont stands within a few hundred
wards of where the Mccullough mill
stood.
wonderful evolution from the full
ING mill to McCullough's Mill and
nav the Great Falls hyrdo-c!ccuit
nIont and Republic Mills. now uSin-
-. much cotton in Il week as the Nc
CrIIouuh factory did in Il whole year.
The home spinning and weaving grad
,.l,y grew into dIsusc, especially IN
,,.. king white cloth as a better article
cou1d be bought comparatively cheap.
A few; plantations kept it up TO utilize
the labor of negro women during the
winter months. The smaller farmers
,vbo generally kept Il flock Of sheep,
tba wool of which was spun and
woven into homemade jeans, blankets
and knit into socks. This jean was
durable and warm and clothed all the
,n,Ie members comfortably during the
winter Very few store clothes were
usnd bv these sturdy toilcrs Of the
farm and yocmcn of the country. Nj
+a. South Carolina seeded from tn"
Union. war was declared and W" were
,,..,,, rISt af he world