Sampson Mill

Sampson Mill has been around quite a long time. Oscar Sampson opened his first Sampson Mill in 1865 just after the end of the Civil War using a 35-year-old equipment, a steam engine from Newberry, and $60,000. Sampson partnered with James Morgan and Jacob Cagle who both worked to construct the mill and the surrounding village.

The incredible poverty after the Civil War made even low wages at a mill attractive, with a small town with churches, schools, libraries and parks located within walking distance of the mill. Yet the struggles were common. Many widows in particular who worked in the mills were treated harsher than most. Strikes only accomplished a temporary stop in operations, but in 1926, the president of the mills was at least forced out of power. Sold in 1936 to Florence Mills in North Carolina, the company became a subsidiary of Cone Mills. Cone Mills dissolved later and Florence mills took over, demolished most of the old village.

Locals mostly refer to this place as "American Spinning" No. 2. A sad place, like Poe Mill, especially compared to some of the more modern places like Union Bleachery, next on our tour!

Suggested Readings

"American Spinning Company Mill no. 2." National Regiser of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2016

“Sampson Mill Operated for 95 Years in Greenville.” The Greenville News. July 05, 2017

Bob Duke. “American Spinning Company.” Greenville Textile Heritage Society

Michael Trinkley. “Life Weaving Golden Thread: Archaeological Investigations at the Sampson Mill Village, Greenville County, South Carolina.” March 1993. Chicora Foundation Research, Series 36.