Slobot About Town XXXIII:
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Slobot goes to Clifton Mill #1.
Slobot was leaning on this abutment along the Pacolet River.
Downstream Slobot would discover this dam.
Slobot suddenly remembered that this dam once powered Clifton Mill #1.
During drought conditions the river here appears relatively calm...
but after a storm the river takes on a more sinister
appearance. It is no surprise that this bend of the river came to
be known as "Hurricane Shoals." |
D. E. Converse and Co. were looking to expand
their Glendale operations and so decided to build a mill at Hurricane
Shoals. |
Clifton Mill #1, as it would come to be called,
would incorporate in 1880 and begin production in 1881. |
Clifton was so named because it rests in the shadow of this striking cliff.
Clifton Mill would be a success and so operations were soon expanded.
Indeed, Clifton Mill #2 would be built downstream
in 1889 and Clifton Mill #3 (AKA Converse Mill) would be built upstream
in 1896. |
Clifton #1, like so many other area mills, would
be nearly destroyed by the flood of 1903. |
In the wake of the 1903 deluge Clifton #1 would
be rebuilt and see continuing success. |
Indeed, operations would be expanded in the 1940s
and '50s. By the 1970s, however, the mill had been closed and converted
to storage. |
In 2002 a new owner took possession of Clifton #1 and began demolition.
Today what still stands of Clifton #1 is crumbling
and as malodorous as burnt plastic. |