My grandfather was an employee at the Clifton #2 Mill and a longtime Clifton resident. His house overlooked the Pacolet River, and in my childhood, I spent many days playing in, on, and around it. I fancied myself a modern-day Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer. I still can’t imagine the normally lazy river overflowing its banks in a destructive rage, but on the morning of June 6th, 1903, that is exactly what happened.
The rains began late on May 31st, and continued for several days. One witness was quoted as saying “there were no raindrops, just sheets of water”. Early in the morning of June 6th, the Pacolet River left its banks and began a day of flash flooding, leaving a 12-mile trail of devastation and destruction from Converse all the way down to Pacolet and beyond.
Four mills were destroyed that morning, along with at least 75 houses. Most of the homes were duplexes, leaving over 600 people homeless, and thousands jobless. A Southern Railways trestle was destroyed and washed away. The trolley that serviced the Clifton and Glendale communities was ripped up and was never replaced. 178 weaving looms, weighing over 7,000 pounds each, were carried off, only three were ever found. The Presbyterian church was washed 35 miles downstream, and was found almost completely intact.
Official estimates claim 70 deaths, but the actual count was probably closer to 100. It was the deadliest flood in South Carolina history and the worst natural disaster in Spartanburg.
The Pacolet River Flood Monument was dedicated in 2011 and is located on Hwy. 29 north and Brooklyn Road. If you are traveling north on Hwy. 29, it is on the left just a couple hundred yards after you cross the river. If you are looking for it, you can see it from the highway. The memorial park is about 300 to 400 yards uphill from the river itself. The monument is meant to represent a cotton mill smokestack and is 22 feet tall, which was approximately the depth of the water at this point! Take another look at the picture at the top of this post. Just to put it in perspective, I’m a touch over six feet tall.
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