Woodside Mill

Woodside was the largest cotton mill under one roof in the United States and the largest single mill building in the world. It put Greenville on the national map!

Founded by John T. Woodside in 1902, one of several other mills around the Upstate run by himself and his three brothers. Woodside expanded the mill four times until it boasted 112,000 spindles. The mill developed the neighborhood surrounding it until it included two churches, a school, a baseball field, a recreation building, a common garden, and a mill store. Woodside was not just the center of textile life but of all community life around it as well.

Once the Great Depression took full effect, Woodside Mill suffered like much of the textile industry in the Upstate. It found a new president in 1931 and might have closed if not for the necessity of military uniforms that World War II demanded. Unrest began with labor unions formation in 1934 and culminated in 1950 when a union strike broke out, turned violent, and lasted almost three months.

Woodside Mill found salvation in the most unlikely of places. As labor demands grew in force and number, the president of the mill sought out cheaper but still experienced textile workers. He found them in Medellín, Colombia. The Colombian population in Greenville, Medellín possessed its own booming textile industry, and workers were willing to immigrate to the United States for jobs that likely included better working conditions and pay. They called themselves “pioneros,” or pioneers, and immigrated to Greenville in the 1950s.

Unlike the labor unions, the Colombian workers generally enjoyed their work in the mill seemingly due to more freedom in choosing their hours, opportunity to advance into mill management, and the community environment. One worker even recalls the employees and their families coming together to throw a barbeque party.

Contemporary Note: Dr. Sophia Kearns of Furman University believes that the mill was likely sustained for an additional 30 years as a result of the Colombian workers until it closed in 1984. However, their modern impact reaches far beyond the textile industry. The Hispanic Alliance reports that out of almost 45,000 Hispanics in Greenville, 20% identify as Colombian. The Colombian population in Greenville finds its origins in those first “pioneros” and continues a vibrant tradition today.

Sources:

Greenville: The History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont by Archie Vernon Huff Jr.

"Textile Industry." South Carolina Encyclopedia.

"Woodside Mill." South Carolina Picture Project.

Transcript of Oral Interview with Amparo Muñoz by Dr. Sofia Kearns

Hispanics in Greenville Assessment by Hispanic Alliance and Furman University.