Spartansburg folks enjoy celebrating. Parades, carnivals, dances, dinners, picnics and gatherings of all sorts have been reported since the late 1800s in the busy borough. Carnivals and parades were often held to mark the opening of a new business, for example the opening of the…
Only seven years after the destructive fire of 1898 which burned the north side of Main Street, the quiet of a January night was broken by the call of fire. The millinery store of Mrs. Eastman was the site of the fire’s start. In addition…
Twenty years after the 1878 fire that destroyed both sides of Main Street, the alarm of “Fire!” was sounded at 2 AM on June 13, 1898. I am sure that there were folks whose memories returned to that earlier cry with a sense of dread.…
The first copy of the “Spartansburgh” Sentinel was 2 pages and issued on February 28, 1885. The Editor was listed as RA Maxwell who published the paper from his home. ***NOTE*** Through the generous contribution from the Firth family, photo images of the Sentinel…
In 1882, a bank was organized in Spartansburg. The bank was a private bank with no state or federal backing. The first President of the bank was IH Burt and the first cashier was FD Catlin. In 1889, DW Tryon became a major stockholder and…
Spartansburg has suffered three major fires in the town business district. The first fire occurred in 1878 and destroyed homes and businesses on both side of Main Street. The downtown of Spartansburg had been growing and many businesses and residences above stores had been built. …
The Methodist Church building remains in its original location on Main Street. The organization of the Methodist Episcopal Congregation happened about 1827 through Rev IH Tackett. Church services were initially held in the school building that was on land owned by Dan Akins (west of…
The 1874 version of the Crawford County Directory provided a list of residents of Sparta Township and Spartansburg Borough. The listing included the occupation of the resident. Those who lived in the township are designated with an r and a number after their names. 1874…
The first school in Spartansburg town limits was built on land donated by the Akins on the east side of Oil Creek (East Branch) In 1862, a modern new school was built on the corner of Water and Wood Streets. The wood construction building was…
Woolen manufacturing was among the earliest and longest lasting businesses in Spartansburg. As early as 1837, nearly 20 years before the borough was incorporated, McWilliams and Emerson developed a carding and fulling mill south of what would become the center of town. The business was…
Platt’s Mill on Mill Street beside the dam is the longest operating business site in Spartansburg. It was the original grist mill site begun by the Akins brothers in the 1830s on land purchased from Judge Barlow. The Akins also had a saw mill on…
In the 1830’s The Akins brothers, Andrew and Aaron, opened a Saw Mill and a Grist Mill on the East and West Side of Oil Creek. The Grist mill was on the site of the current Platt’s Mill. In 1837, Andrew Akin opened a General…
PLEASE NOTE: This post is a brief overview of the lives of Patrick and Hugh Fitzpatrick. For a more detailed study of their lives and deaths, check out the book Patrick’s Run by James McQuiston. The Fitzpatrick’s came from Ireland to settle on a tract…
Spartansburg History is work in progress. I welcome any photos, stories, articles or other historical items. I will care for them, digitize them and get them back to you. The information you will find here is based on stories, resources, pictures, news articles and some…
