// South Carolina White Privilege // Hard Working Americans // Since The Beginning // We Grew Up In a Mill House // Both Parents Worked at a Mill //

The Wilson twins head to work at the mill in Belton, South Carolina, May 1912.

Library of Congress/LOT 7479, v. 5, no. 3022-A [P&P]

You have to love the matching outfits including the bonnets! One source claims that between 1880 and 1910 about one-fourth of all mill workers in South Carolina was under the age of 16.

 A spinner at Mollohan Mill in Newberry, South Carolina, March 1908.

Flickr/Knoxville Museum of Art

Spinning machines took a cotton thread, or yarn, and compacted it even more, making it stronger. It was dangerous work. Many mill workers would end up with life changing injuries sustained when clothing or fingers became ensnarled in the heavy equipment.

 A row of houses of the cotton mill people. Lydia Mills, Clinton, South Carolina, December 1908.

Library of Congress/LOT 7479, v. 1, no. 0384 [P&P]

During this era, it was common for the mill to control most aspects of life for the mill workers. They'd live in mill housing, go to a mill school, and shop at a mill store. It was common for children to come and go as they pleased in the factory, eventually lending a hand to an older family member and then getting hired when they were of legal age.

 Mill worker Johns Lewis stands tall and proud for a photo taken in November 1908.

Library of Congress/LOT 7479, v. 1, no. 0334 [P&P]

Lewis worked at Springstein Mill in Chester, South Carolina. He was twelve at the time of this photo and had worked in the mill for a year. His starting wage was 40-cents/hour. A year later he'd advanced to the position of "weaver" where he oversaw four looms and was raised to 60-cents/hour. This was a major contribution to the family finances. It's no wonder he seems so proud.

This rare glimpse into the life of cotton mill workers in the first two decades of the 1900s provides some insight into the lifestyle and hardships endured in this era. South Carolina was built on the backs of these laborers, who literally put the clothing on the backs of their fellow South Carolinians and others around the country. AMEN ....... 

For another look into South Carolina’s past, take a look at these 21 Rare Photos Taken In South Carolina During The Great Depression.