South Carolina Department of Archives and History
National Register Properties in South Carolina

Monaghan Mill, Greenville County (201 Smythe St., Greenville)
S1081772305901 S1081772305902 S1081772305903 S1081772305904 S1081772305905
Facade Rear Elevation Rear Elevation
Tower
Interior Detail Wood Floor and
Brick Walls
S1081772305906 S1081772305907      
Smokestack
and Watertower
Reservoir

Monaghan Mill is significant for its association with the development of the textile industry in Greenville County from 1900 to 1946 and as an excellent intact example of cotton mill engineering and design at the turn of the twentieth century. Monaghan Mill was established in 1900 by first cousins Lewis Wardlaw Parker and Thomas Fleming Parker, who received financial support from their grandfather Thomas Fleming and advice from Francis W. Poe of the F.W. Poe Manufacturing Company, one of the leading textile manufacturers in the South. The Parkers named their new mill Monaghan after their grandfather Fleming’s native county in Ireland. From the start, the Parkers’ goal was to make Monaghan Mill and its village a model of enlightened paternalism. The main mill building, designed by Lockwood, Greene and Company, has a rectangular plan with four stories over a basement. The mill is constructed of brick perimeter walls laid in common bond and heavy timber framework. Cast iron columns support interior floors and are designed to carry the weight of heavy textile machinery. Two four-story blocks were constructed in the 1940s to accommodate modern equipment. Major spaces include a basement containing much of the mill’s original maintenance equipment, a two-story boiler room and two bathroom towers on the rear elevation, and three freight elevators servicing its main floor and basement. A smokestack, water tower, pond, and elements of historic landscaping all contribute to the historic character and significance of the property. Listed in the National Register October 4, 2005.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.

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