• 1820’s Saw Mills (1/1/1820) - In the 1820's William Sterling and Akins started the first lumber businesses in Sparta Township.  The mills were on tract… …
  • Akins Brothers Begin Business in Spartansburg (7/9/1831) - This is a mill similar to what Akins might have built. In the 1830's The Akins brothers, Andrew and Aaron,… …
  • Platt’s (Akins, Jude, Eldred and Thompson, Davis and Hyde, Platt & Steadman) Mill (1/10/1832) - Platt's Mill on Mill Street beside the dam is the longest operating business site in Spartansburg.  It was the original… …
  • The Tauber Woolen Mill (Previously Lamb) (8/9/1837) - Woolen manufacturing was among the earliest and longest lasting businesses in Spartansburg.  As early as 1837, nearly 20 years before… …
  • Early Hardware Stores (Alsdorf / Burt / Thompson / Hilliker) (3/3/1855) - Hardware stores have served an important role in all small communities by providing those items that could not easily be… …
  • Blacksmith Shops (8/25/1860) - At one time, Spartansburg hosted 4 blacksmith shops in the village.  Luther and George Day, Charles Thompson, John McDannel, Charles… …
  • Tyler Tannery to Western Union Tannery (4/11/1869) - On the south side of Main Street, east of Oil Creek, John Willard Williams, then burgess of Spartansburg, built a… …
  • The Edwards Family (3/9/1873) - The Edwards Family came to the United States from Forfar, Scotland to Corry around 1871 and moved to Spartansburg about… …
  • Gustav Schmelzer Shoes and Boots (2/3/1890) - With thanks to Gustav's Great Grandson, Robert for sharing information and photos of Gustav and some of his tools and… …
  • The Taubers (11/19/1895) - The Tauber family held a prominent place in the Spartansburg community.  As owners and managers of the Tauber Woolen Mill,… …
  • The Edwards Woolen Mill (8/9/1896) - The Edwards Brothers (James and WIlliam), with the help of the town, constructed and operated a woolen mill.  Two acres… …
  • Evert Frost-Watches and Jewelry (5/8/1900) - In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Everett (Evert) Frost and wife, Edna, lived in Spartansburg where he owned a… …
  • OSMO Tannery (1933-1989) (1/15/1931) - As a part of his duties at the Tauber Woolen Mill, Walter Pfeiffer traveled and visited many businesses that were… …

Lumber and Grist Mills were among the first industries that came to Spartansburg-before it was Spartansburg- early on, we were Akinsville-after some of the first settlers. But we didn’t stop there…Woolen Mills, Chair Factories, Tanneries, Blacksmiths- the list of tradesmen who shared their skills in our community is long, and some of those trades can still be found here-still serving the area, 100+ years later.