Poe Mill

Poe Mill. . Francis Winslow Poe (1853-1926) established the Poe Mill in 1896 on sixty acres of land in Greenville, South Carolina, known as “Governor’s Hill”. The mill was built adjacent to the main line of the Southern Railroad and the nearby White Oak branch of the Reedy River. The mill and village were laid out by J.E. Sirrine on his first assignment of Lockwood, Greene,, and Company. The 432,000 square foot brick mill was “built for posterity” by local Greenville contractor Jacob O. Cagle. The mill started with 10,000 spindles and 400 workers. By 1911, it had expanded to 70,352 spindles, 1,700 looms and employed 800 workers., In addition to the mill, a company store and a school were also constructed on the land. After beginning with a “Union” church, the mill built separate Baptist and Methodist churches. Four and six room “saltbox style” houses were built for employees who lived on the mill village. Discounted coal was sold by the company store to the villagers to heat their homes. Wood was used for cooking., By mid 1920, there was a baseball field and swimming pool across Buncombe Road from the village. Poe athletic teams for children through adults participated in the Greenville area textile leagues and the annual Southern textile Basketball Tournaments., One unique feature of the Poe Mill was the two smoke stakes. It was the only mill in the Greenville area to have two smoke stacks for the same mill plant., The mill was owned by the Poe family until 1947. It was then sold the Ely Walker Company. In 1954, it was sold to Burlington Industries who operated the mill until its closing in 1977. Poe Mill burned in 2003. Only two smoke stacks remain as reminders of the great mill.