Clifton, SC

Clifton sits on the Pacolet River between Spartanburg and Cowpens, and the river is the reason this CDP has a much bigger industrial story than its size suggests. Clifton Manufacturing Company formed in 1880, choosing the river’s drops at Hurricane Shoals for water power. Mill No. 1 began making cloth in 1881, with a mill village growing nearby; two more mills followed downriver and upriver as the company expanded. Early products included sheeting, drills, and print cloth, tying Clifton to the Upcountry’s cotton economy.

The river also showed its force. A flood in 1903 tore through the valley, destroyed much of the mill village, and damaged all three mills. The company rebuilt, but textile work eventually changed hands and the mills began closing in the late 1960s; the last buildings were demolished in the early 2000s. What remains is a place name, the Pacolet corridor, and a landscape shaped by mill roads, bridges, and the old industrial sites. Clifton is a good reminder that a small community can carry the footprint of a major factory town long after the looms stop.