Gregg, William

After some initial teething, the company quickly proved highly prosperous, producing shirting and sheeting that sold well in markets as far away as Philadelphia and New York. Graniteville was also unusual in that it employed the labor of free white laborers, mostly women and teenaged children, at a time when most southern manufacturers used the labor of black slaves.

From the late nineteenth century through most of the twentieth century, the textile industry dominated South Carolina manufacturing. It employed…