Ware Shoals, South Carolina

A bird's eye view of the mill in the 1950s. Katherine Hall is seen just behind the mill.

Ware Shoals is a town in South Carolina, USA, along the Saluda River. The population was 2,363 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Location of Ware Shoals, South Carolina

Ware Shoals is located at 34°23′48″N 82°14′42″W (34.396714, -82.244948)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.3 km² (4.0 mi²). 10.0 km² (3.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (3.01%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,363 people, 978 households, and 638 families residing in the town. The population density was 235.8/km² (610.1/mi²). There were 1,126 housing units at an average density of 112.3/km² (290.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.33% White, 20.10% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population.

There were 978 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 84.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,531, and the median income for a family was $36,800. Males had a median income of $31,335 versus $21,058 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,813. About 12.8% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

History

Ware Shoals is the site of an old water wheel grist mill operated in the early 1800s by William Ware at Rutledge Ford, on the Saluda River.

Nat Dial of Laurens County envisioned the possibility of damming this river to power a cotton plant. Dial started the project, but ran out of funds before the power plant was completed. Benjamin D. Riegel bought the project from Dial and founded both the Ware Shoals Manufacturing Company and the town of Ware Shoals in 1902.

The construction of a power plant was completed in 1904, as a prelude to the construction of a state-of-the-art textile mill in 1906. That power plant originally provided for 4,800 horse power. The mill contained 30,000 spindles. By 1916 a new mill was constructed, containing 70,200 spindles and 1,300 looms.

File:Wareshoalsearlymill.jpg

The original mill.

Between 1904 and 1916, the population of Ware Shoals had grown from 2 men employed to maintain the newly constructed power plant, to 2,000. By the 1960s the mill was employing 5,000 people.

The founders of the mill and the original officers of the Ware Shoals Manufacturing Corporation were Benjamin Riegel, president, Benj. D. Riegel, treasurer; James MacEnroe, assistant treasurer; and R. S. Oliver secretary.

MacEnroe was instrumental in the construction of the town's first school, at the cost of $20,000. The mill employed the school's eight teachers and required many of its employees and their children to attend classes.

In 1926 a large school building was constructed to accommodate the Caucasian students. This building is still used today as the Ware Shoals High School and remains one of the oldest school buildings in the use in the state of South Carolina.

In the 1950s, the Emma Maddox School was completed for African American Students. Maddox was a stern disciplinarian and much respected teacher and Principal. The Emma Maddox Building of the current Ware Shoals Elementary School was named in her honor, in recognition of her contributions to the educational, spiritual and civic lives of African Americans in the greater Ware Shoal's area. When public schools were integrated in 1969, Emma Maddox School became the Middle School for all students in the community.

Benjamin Riegel helped organize the town's first church when he brought a Presbyterian preacher, Rev. J. M. Dallas. That first church building was intended as a union church building and the Methodists and Presbyterians used it together, while the Baptists constructed their own facility.

By 1916, the town was as new and modern as any in South Carolina. In addition to the cotton mill and the school, the Ware Shoals Manufacturing Corporation, later known as Riegel Textile Corporation, helped give the town electric lights, water and sewerage and good streets. The mill operated a bank, a railway, an ice factory, a cotton gin and a cotton seed oil mill. A community center was built by the textile company at a cost of $40,000.

"The People's Amusement Hall" is what Benjamin Riegel set out to build, but was so proud of it that he named it the Katherine Hall, in honor of his daughter.

The mill also operated a department store, or "company store" as was common in mill towns through the South. The store began as a one-room shanty in 1906. By 1920, a newly constructed store was on its way to becoming one of the best and most modern department stores in the state. Here one could find everything from a cradle to a casket! There was a soda fountain where the community members socialized, toy department, pharmacy, candy counter, men's shop, ladies' ready-to-wear section, furniture department, bargain basement, grocery store, and cloth shop. Appropriately, the store's motto was "You can buy in one store anything from a paper and pen to a Ford automobile, from a baby girl's rattle to her wedding dress."

Script was used as currency in textile mill towns. It was good for use only in the company store.

"The Big Friendly" remained a central part of life in Ware Shoals until its closing in 1963. It soon became the SEO, or Southern Executive Offices of the Riegel Textile Corporation. With the closing of the mill and the end of Riegel Textile, the town bought the building and located its City Hall in the now-historic building.

Riegel Stadium was built in 1931 using workers from President Roosevelt's nation-wide job programs. The stadium was first used for football games in 1934. Lighting was installed a year later, allowing night games as well. Through the decades, Riegel Stadium has hosted high school teams, textile baseball leagues, and the Negro baseball leagues. In 1954, the stadium hosted an exhibition game between the Cincinnati Red Legs and The Washington Senators.

A photo of the Ware Shoal's Baseball Team, circa 1910.

The town reached a peak in the early 1970s. As Japanese imports threatened the American textile industry, and as the once state-of-the-art mill became archaic, the mill was closed in 1985. Riegel Textile was sold to Mount Vernon Mills.

Cheerleading Scandal

The town became a focus of national attention in January, 2007, when 29 year old high school cheerleading coach Jill Moore was accused of serving beer to minor-aged cheerleaders. Moore was later accused of involving the cheerleaders in sexual activities with members of the National Guard unit. The case also involved the arrest of the high school's principal, Jane Moore, who resigned after being accused of obstructing justice. She had reportedly met with the cheerleaders to direct them NOT to talk with law enforcement officials.

According to the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, Guardsman Jeremy Pileggi, who was 21 at the time, admitted a sexual relationship with a then-16-year-old cheerleader whom he was introduced to by coach Jill Moore and fellow Guard member Thomas Fletcher, 29. According to the report, Moore and Fletcher, both of whom are married, were engaged in an extramarital affair.

At this time, both Jill Moore and Jane Blackwell deny all charges.

External links

• [Memories of Ware Shoals http://members.aol.com/mustardseedbooks/wareshoalsphotos.htm]