FROM RICHES TO RAGS : Deindustrialization and the Fall and Rise of the Upstate Mill Towns of South Carolina

The collapse and subsequent deindustrialization of the textile industry in the late 20th century devastated dozens of small communities across the Piedmont. With the loss of their primary economic engine these towns struggled with the outmigration of professional services and small businesses, crippling poverty, high unemployment, and rampant crime. As South Carolina’s economic model evolved to adapt to the globalized economy of the 21st century its government funded reindustrialization efforts have focused on its already well developed urban core, a strategy that often neglects rural areas. Yet, despite having been overlooked the majority of these orphaned mill towns did not evaporate along with their mill but have struggled to adapt to, and find their niche in, the post-textile age. After four decades of fruitless struggle many of them still hold out for a miracle, a white knight employer able to spark an economic renaissance. Unfortunately, saddled with tight budgets, and outdated infrastructure they can barely support their existing businesses, much less convince new ones to relocate. More recently, they have attempted to leverage their historical and nature-based recreation assets in an attempt to carve out a niche for themselves in the new economy, often to mixed results.