Pacolet

Located just a short 20-minute drive from downtown Spartanburg, Pacolet is one of the best preserved mill villages in the state. The National Register of Historic Places has recognized Pacolet for its significant collection of over 250 arts-and-crafts style homes from the textile era. Other statewide and national preservation organizations have commended Pacolet for its pioneer efforts in heritage tourism and community revitalization.

Although the actual mill buildings constructed in 1882 are no longer standing, visitors can experience the beautiful architecture that characterized this planned mill community by visiting Pacolet Town Hall. Located at 180 Montgomery Avenue, this building formerly served as the Pacolet Manufacturing headquarters. Today there is a museum inside which showcases photos, fabrics, mill artifacts, and furnishings from the old Victor Inn where traveling cotton merchants once stayed.

While at Town Hall, don’t miss the large mural that depicts an early 1900s design for the village influenced by noted urban planner Earle Sumner Draper. Other nearby points of interest include the mills’ 1906 cloth room, the Romanesque amphitheater built in 1924, and the life-sized white stallion standing proud watch over the Pacolet River Bridge (US Hwy 150). This horse was used as a symbol for Pacolet cloth products and was also associated with the town’s textile baseball league.

Before you depart, be sure to spend time enjoying the beautiful Pacolet River, made accessible by newly developed paddling and walking trails. Notice how the swift-moving waters made this a prime location for a textile town. Also check out Marysville School on Sunny Acres Road, a private African-American school built in 1915 for mill workers’ children. As a mill-supported school, Marysville provided an education which exceeded what was available to most African-American students during the decades of segregation. Learn more by reading the interpretive signage on-site.