Near Ft. Mill, S.C. the Springs and White families were among the first settlers on Catawba land. What set these families apart from their neighbors was their influence in the development of textiles and commerce in the Carolina Piedmont.    

     By the early twentieth century, the Carolina Piedmont was the leading producer of textiles in the world. Two main reasons for this distinction were the presence of an impoverished, post-Civil War population as a source of cheap labor and the Catawba River as a source of power. The story of the boom and bust of textiles in the twenty-first century also includes the rise of Charlotte as a leading financial and banking center.      

 

	Learn the history of the Springs family.

En route to Ft. Mill, the group stopped at the site of Nations Ford fort above the Catawba River. It was built for the protection of the Catawba Indians. This place was once the home of early settler Thomas Spratt, a family burial plot, and the route of the Great Wagon Road.

Curator Ann Y. Evans led the group on an historical walk through the White Homestead (c. 1830) telling the history of the Springs family and the mills.

The life of local legend and owner of  Springs Company textiles, Col. Elliott Springs, was discussed along with the history of the Springs mills. On a bus tour we saw the now-closed Springs mill, the remnants of a mill village and the newly developed community called Baxter Village.