South Carolina History-The Textile State and History of Housing In Greenville

Greenville SC, the Upstate and surrounding counties from the beginning of the 20th century made their industry a nation wide name with textiles. Cotton, hemp, you name it. And now a group of SC folks interested in preserving the heritage of the homes created by these mill towns, have started a heritage foundation named the Camperdown Mills Historical Society.

Why is this important to Greenville? Well Camperdown was a huge mill located on the current Reedy Falls Park downtown. When I asked a local why many of the farms and plantation homes from the civil war weren't showcased in Greenville I got a curt answer "Because Sherman burnt them all". So after the war between the states, Greenville and all of SC endeavored to become a force in textiles. Little villages sprung up around the mills and those homes are still in existance today. In fact I've sold two just recently. They just don't build homes like this anymore, with character and pride and history.

Original Camperdown Mill on the Banks of the Reedy River, Greenville SC

I invite you to check out the Camperdown Historical Society's page at: http://camperdownmill.com/default.aspx

I only found out about this group today when at a local Travelers Rest festival celebrating out little burb's 200th birthday, the Camperdown Textile Heritage Band was showcased. These men and women are a perfect recreation of the bands that competed in each little mill village and helped the men and women stay abreast of happenings overseas in WWII. Featuring songs from the 20-30's, the audience was enthralled with the "rags" and standards of that era and many toes were tapping. My three year old was especially fascinated with the "laughing trombone".

A salute to those preserving not only the history of yesterday, but also the homes which we still place clients and are proud to keep part of South Carolina's rich heritage. Let's keep looking toward tomorrow but not forget the lessons of yesterday. And let's share a bit of history from each market. It only enriches us and our children's lives.

I look forward to hearing more about your hometowns.