Editing Slater-Marietta, South Carolina (section)

==History==
J. Harvey Cleveland, born in 1815, invested in land in northern Greenville County, including a {{convert|300|acre|e6m2|abbr=unit|adj=on}} tract along the North Saluda River which he bought from his father-in-law about 1840. Cleveland expanded the simple home on the property and made it his family home. He also plotted a nearby settlement, named "Marietta" after his wife, Mary Louisa Williams.<ref name="cleveland" />

Though in an otherwise favorable location, the resulting village was slow to grow, possibly because the only direct access to the area was via the dangerous [[Jones Gap State Park#History|Jones Gap Road]]. The [[Carolina, Knoxville and Western Railway|CK&W rail line]] that became nicknamed the [[Swamp Rabbit Trail|Swamp Rabbit]] was laid past Marietta in the late 1880s. In the 1920s, the Geer Highway was built through the area, a new reservoir provided water, and electricity was eventually provided by [[Duke Energy|Duke Power]].<ref name=cleveland>{{cite news |url=https://eu.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2020/11/11/historic-greenville-family-cleveland-behind-growth-town-marietta-upstate-sc/6221993002/ |title=Historic Greenville family behind growth of the town of Marietta |date=November 11, 2020 |newspaper=The Greenville News |first=Judith |last=Bainbridge |access-date=June 4, 2021 |url-access=limited }}</ref>

In 1927, the [[Slater family]] announced they would build a {{convert|30,000|sqft|adj=on}} mill nearby and a Slater village around it, on land bought from Cleveland family members.<ref name="cleveland" /> The Slaters had started [[Slater Mill]], the first [[textile mill]] in America, in [[Rhode Island]] in 1790, and built the village of [[Slatersville]] in 1803 and then other mills in [[Massachusetts]] before moving their operations to South Carolina.<ref name="trtribune.com">{{cite news |title=Upcountry History: Slater Mill and the village of Slater |date=January 4, 2016 |first=James |last=Richardson |url=http://www.trtribune.com/index.php/local-news/item/2129-upcountry-history-slater-mill-and-the-village-of-slater |newspaper=Travelers Rest Tribune |access-date=December 22, 2020 }}</ref> The new Slater Mill opened in 1928, was very successful, and overwhelmed the two communities, which became referred to as Slater-Marietta.<ref name="cleveland" />

In 1934, H. Nelson Slater, the mill founder, built Slater Hall, a community center for Slater village.<ref name="greenvilleonline.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/business/2016/08/06/slater-mill-has-defied-odds-but-s-time-may-coming-end/88304626/ |title=Slater mill has defied the odds, but its time may be coming to an end |date=August 6, 2016 |newspaper=Greenville News |first=Rudolph |last=Bell |access-date=December 22, 2020 |url-access=limited }}</ref> In 1946, the Slaters sold their mill to J.P. Stevens & Company, and the J.P. Stevens' Slater Plant went on to produce the main material for the space suits used on the [[Apollo 11|first Moon landing]] in 1969 as well as [[Space Shuttle]] components.<ref name="trtribune.com"/> In 2016, JPS Composite Materials owned the mill, which was mainly producing fiber glass, and sold it to B&W Fiber Glass.<ref name="greenvilleonline.com"/>