Slater

Slater. . In 1927 Horatio Nelson Slater III (1892-1968), the great grandson of Samuel slater who built the first textile mill in America in 1790, purchased 466 acres of property in Northern Greenville county to build a textile mill and “village”. The village included 140 homes, a General Store, Barber shop, Post Office, Medical Clinic, Boarding House, and Fire Department. In 1934 Slater Hall was constructed. The “Building” as it is known by the community, served as a school, movie theater, basketball gym, as well as a meeting place for he Baptist and Methodist churches. A swimming pool, tennis courts, and a children’s playground also were located on the property. The mill also provided a nine hole golf course for the community. Three lots were set aside for the construction of the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, and the Church of God. A huge part of community life was textile basketball and baseball. Slater’s teams excelled in both sports. The Slater women hold the record with ten championships won in the Southern Textile Basketball tournament. In 1946, the mill was sold to J.P. Stevens and Company. By then, the mill had expanded to 185,000 square feet and housed over 1,200 looms. By 1990, the plant was a 400,000 square-foot complex. At its peak, the mill employed 1,200 workers. Slater began as a cotton mill but changed to fiberglass and other synthetics. Slater produced the main material for the space suits for the first moon landing in 1969 and for the space shuttle components. Slater is know as “The Mill that Went to the Moon.” The name “Slater: and the date “1790” can be seen on the iconic brick smokestack. This serves as a proud reminder of the connection with Samuel Slater, the father of textiles in America, and the Slater mill.