“Lintheads”Life in a Mill Town

By: Ms. Lance

Standard 8-5.3

The Industrial Revolution in the US paved the way for the influx of textile mills in South Carolina. As the state moved away from an agrarian lifestyle, people began moving into towns and taking jobs in the textile mills.

The South did not want to rely on the North for the production of textile goods.

Textile mills were established in the Upstate of South Carolina to make use of the river systems for hydroelectric power.

Mill owners would hire any able-bodied persons to work in their mills, because more labor meant more output. This included women and children.

Mill owners, in an attempt to maintain control over their employees, began constructing towns around their mills. These were known as mill villages, and they were towns within towns.

These houses were built alongside the mill, and were rented out to the mill workers. These houses were typically four-room houses, and rent was charged by the number of rooms you occupied. Rent was taken out of the worker's paycheck from the mill.

Mill owners were worried that the school systems in the area could not handle the number of mill children coming in, so mill schools were built to accommodate them. Children usually attended until the 8th grade, and then they would go to work.

Mill owners also began to provide recreational activities for the families. They hoped that this

would help the mill workers forget about the long, exhausting hours they were working.

Baseball leagues Bowling alleys Picnics Garden clubs Fashion shows Music Roller skating Churches

These activities were not enough to make up for the harsh conditions that mill

workers had to endure.

They worked 11-12 hour days in rooms with little ventilation, and were still

oftentimes living in poverty.

To exert even more control over mill workers, mill owners established their own stores and would issue part of the workers' paychecks in “mill money”. These coins were commonly called

“loonies” and could only be spent at the company stores.

In the 1940's and 50's, due to reform in the mills and higher wages awarded to mill workers, people were able to afford to move away from the mill villages. The true mill village soon ceased to exist.

Many of these mills are now abandoned and ignored by many of us who pass by them on a daily basis. So when you pass one of the many dotting our towns in this area, take a minute to appreciate the hardworking men, women, and children who came before us.