Editing Pelzer, South Carolina (section)

==History==

Pelzer was founded in the 19th century as a mill town around several mill sites <!-- (the Lower Mill and the Upper Mill) --> on the Saluda River developed by the Pelzer Manufacturing Company.  The first (lower) mill was completed in 1882; two additional expansions were referred to as mills 2 and 3, with construction of the 4th mill (the upper mill) starting in 1896.<ref name="smyth">{{cite web| url=http://www.textilehistory.org/EllisonAdgerSmyth.html| title=Ellison Adger Smyth| publisher=Textile History.org| accessdate=June 29, 2015| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907023442/http://www.textilehistory.org/EllisonAdgerSmyth.html| archivedate=September 7, 2015}}</ref>  Pelzer Manufacturing drew power from two dams built along the Saluda River, which generated power with the help of the first generators ever sold by [[General Electric]].<ref name="sci">{{cite web| url=http://www.sciway.net/city/pelzer.html| title=SCIway Town of Pelzer| publisher=SCIway| accessdate=June 29, 2015| archive-date=September 7, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907230954/https://www.sciway.net/city/pelzer.html| url-status=live}}</ref>  The factory was the first in the country to use incandescent lighting.

The company and town were named for Francis J. Pelzer, who surveyed sites along the river and laid out the town, and was, along with William Lebby and Ellison A. Smyth, one of the founders of Pelzer Manufacturing.  The first president and treasurer of the company was [[Ellison Adger Smyth Sr.|Ellison Adger Smyth]], who held the corporate titles for 43 years.  When Smyth decided to build the fourth mill, he initially selected a site four miles downriver from the town along a shoal, necessitating construction of a new mill town.  Eventually, however, Smyth decided to build a new mill at Pelzer and began construction at the Upper Mill site, with power generation coming from the downstream shoals and dam.  This was the first instance of a mill in South Carolina not built immediately adjacent to its power-generation facility; Smyth contracted General Electric (GE) to build the power lines between the new dam and the existing town, a first in the industry that many competitors argued was doomed to fail.  Smyth allowed GE to use the new Upper Mill as a testing ground for new electric generators and motors, which initially cost Pelzer Manufacturing money and made the new mill a money loser for several years, though it did become profitable over time.<ref name="smyth" />

All four mills were designed and built by the architecture firm [[Lockwood, Greene & Co.]]  Pelzer Manufacturing was sold in 1923 and the mills changed hands several times.  The final functional owner was [[Gerber Products Company]], which bought the mills in 1986 and made [[Onesies (brand)|Onesies]] and other childrenswear until 1990, when the company ceased operations at Pelzer and moved all clothing manufacturing overseas.  The mill properties were bought by Greenlight Enterprises, which demolished the upper mill in 2004; the lower mill burned in 2012 and 2014.<ref name="sci2">{{cite web|url=http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/anderson-county/pelzer-mill.html| title=Pelzer Mill history| date=March 13, 2015| publisher=SCIway| accessdate=June 29, 2015}}</ref>

In 2008, the Community of Pelzer Historical Society was founded at 1 Reed Street in historic Pelzer, with a mission to preserve, restore, and publish when advisable Pelzer history. The society maintains the Historic Pelzer, South Carolina, archives and the historical preservation of events and celebrations. Ms. Beth Howansky, Founder, President, Treasurer, has continuously maintained the historical society for sixteen years, up to currently.

Subsequently, in 2013, the Pelzer Heritage Commission bought both mill sites.

In the mill town, the mill managers' homes were laid out along what was the town's main street (Lebby St.), which eventually became [[South Carolina Highway 8]].  When the town was initially incorporated, only the main street and adjacent properties were included, so that the management of the mill would retain control of the town; the mill town itself occupied substantially more area than the incorporated town.  In 2015, area residents voted to incorporate substantial additional property into the town limits.<ref name="aim">{{cite web| url=http://www.independentmail.com/news/pelzer-votes-to-take-mill-village-into-the-town_59289100| title=Pelzer votes to take mill village into the town| publisher=Anderson Independent Mail| accessdate=June 29, 2015| archive-date=June 11, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611104229/http://www.independentmail.com/news/pelzer-votes-to-take-mill-village-into-the-town_59289100| url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Pelzer Presbyterian Church]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1993.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>