Southern Textile Exposition

Last updated March 06, 2020

The Southern Textile Exposition (1915-2004) was an intermittent trade fair for textile manufacturers held in Greenville, South Carolina.

By the early 20th century, American textile production had moved into the Carolina Piedmont from its earlier center in New England.^[1] By the second decade of the century, South Carolina ranked second only to Massachusetts in textile production; and Greenville, located between Charlotte and Atlanta, was central to the industry.

In 1914, the Southern Textile Association approved the bid of Greenville mill owners to host the first textile machinery trade fair in the South.^[2] The first show, in 1915, was held in borrowed warehouses; but the trade fair was so successful that Greenville's Southern Textile Exposition, Inc. soon raised the money needed to build a permanent exhibition space, Textile Hall, on West Washington Street, which was effectively completed before the second exposition in 1917.^[3] In succeeding years the exhibition was often held biennially.^[4]

By 1946 Greenville could advertise itself as the "Textile Capital of the World," and by 1962 Textile Hall, even with nine annexes and additional leased space, proved inadequate to host the Textile Exposition. The Greenville corporation put up a larger building adjoining the Greenville Downtown Airport on the new U.S. Route 29-Bypass.^[5] In 1969 the Exposition joined with the American Textile Machinery Association to sponsor the American Textile Machinery Exhibition-International, the largest textile machinery show ever held in the United States.^[6]

By the end of the 20th century, low wages and new production capacity in countries such as China, India, and Brazil dramatically reduced textile production in the United States, especially in the Southeast.^[7] The Southern Textile Exposition was held in Greenville for a final time in 2004.^[8]

Related Research Articles

A world's fair or world fair is a large international exhibition designed to showcase achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a period of time, ranging usually from three to six months.

Pickens County is a county in the northwest part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, its population was 119,224. Its county seat is Pickens. The county was created in 1826.

Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, its population was 187,126. Its county seat is Anderson. Named for Revolutionary War leader Robert Anderson, the county is located in northwestern South Carolina, along the Georgia border.

The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. Officially named the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, it was held in Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River on fairgrounds designed by Herman J. Schwarzmann. Nearly 10 million visitors attended the exposition, and 37 countries participated in it.

Greenville, South Carolina City in South Carolina

Greenville is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The city's mayor is Knox H. White, who has been in that position since December 1995. With an estimated population of 68,219 as of 2017, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. The population of the surrounding area was 400,492 as of 2010, making it the third-largest urban area in South Carolina as well as the fastest growing. Greenville is the largest city in the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The MSA had a population of 906,626 in 2018, making it the largest in South Carolina and the third largest in the Carolinas.

Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,102 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area, an (MSA) which includes all of Oconee County and which is further included in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area. Seneca was named for the nearby Cherokee town of Isunigu, known to the English as "Seneca Town".

Spartanburg, South Carolina City in South Carolina, United States

Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States, and the 12th-largest city by population in the state. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 37,013, and Spartanburg County has an urban population of 180,786 as of the 2010 census. For a time, the Office of Management and Budget grouped Spartanburg and Union Counties together as the "Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area", but as of 2018 the OMB defines only Spartanburg County as the Spartanburg MSA.

High Point, North Carolina City in North Carolina, United States

High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is located in Guilford County, with portions extending into neighboring Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that extends into four counties. As of the 2010 census the city had a total population of 104,371, with an estimated population of 112,316 in 2018. High Point is currently the ninth-largest municipality in North Carolina, and the 259th largest city in America.

Piedmont, South Carolina Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States

Piedmont is a census-designated place (CDP) along the Saluda River in Anderson and Greenville counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 5,103 at the 2010 census.

Greer, South Carolina City in South Carolina, United States

Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 25,515 as of the 2010 census and had risen to an estimated 30,899 as of 2017. The city of Greer is located in Greenville County. It is part of the Greenville–Anderson–Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is additionally part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area in Upstate South Carolina.

The 1984 Louisiana World Exposition was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States. It was held 100 years after the city's earlier World's Fair, the World Cotton Centennial in 1884. It opened on Saturday, May 12, 1984, and ended on Sunday, November 11, 1984. Its theme was "The World of Rivers—Fresh Waters as a Source of Life".

The 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition was held at the current Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Nearly 800,000 visitors attended the event. The exposition was designed to promote the American South to the world and showcase products and new technologies, as well as to encourage trade with Latin America. The Cotton States and International Exposition featured exhibits from several states including various innovations in agriculture and technology. President Grover Cleveland presided over the opening of the exposition. The event is best remembered for the "Atlanta compromise" speech given by Booker T. Washington on September 18, promoting racial cooperation.

The Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi (320 km) long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States. Via the Congaree River, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Bronx International Exposition of Science, Arts and Industries was a world's fair held in the Bronx, New York City, United States, in 1918. Meant to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Bronx's settlement, it failed to become popular, as the exposition was held during World War I. After the exposition ended, the site was used for an amusement park called Starlight Park.

The Coleman Manufacturing Company (1899–1904) had the first cotton mill in the United States owned and operated by African Americans. Organized in 1897 by Warren Clay Coleman and others, and operating under original leadership until 1904, it was located in the Piedmont area about two miles from the county seat of Concord, North Carolina in Cabarrus County. Textile manufacturing had been established here before the American Civil War, but the mills hired only white industrial workers. The Coleman property later became part of Franklin Cotton Mills and a Fieldcrest Cannon plant.

Mills Mill was a textile mill in Greenville, South Carolina (1897-1978) that in the 21st century was converted into loft-style condominia. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Monaghan Mill, now the Lofts of Greenville, is a former textile mill (1900–2001) in Greenville, South Carolina, that in the early 21st century was converted into loft apartments. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Brandon Mill United States historic place

Brandon Mill, now the West Village Lofts, is a historic textile mill complex, situated just west of the city of Greenville, Greenville County, South Carolina. The mill was built during the early decades of the 20th century and is one example of the mills in the Greenville "Textile Crescent" that became central to the economic development of the South Carolina upstate during this period. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, and the main mill has been converted into loft apartments.

Old Textile Hall was a former building in Greenville, South Carolina, which from 1917 to 1962, hosted the Southern Textile Exposition, a trade fair for textile machinery. The building also functioned as a municipal auditorium for Greenville until 1958. Old Textile Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 but demolished in 1992.

References

↑ E.D.G., "South Carolina's Mills," New York Times, February 4, 1900, 8.
↑ Ray Belcher, Greenville County, Carolina: From Cotton Fields to Textile Center of the World (Charleston: History Press, 2006), 63-65.
↑ Yancey S. Gilkerson, "Textile Hall's First Sixty Years," Proceedings and Papers of the Greenville County Historical Society, 5 (1980), 77-78. The five-story Textile Hall, approximately 101 by 235 feet, was designed by J. E. Sirrine and Company in Renaissance Revival style and was built by Fiske-Carter Construction Company on West Washington Street, near its intersection with Academy Street, in the western part of Greenville's central business district. Its auditorium, on the second level, included a stage and a balcony; and the tongue-and-groove maple floors were designed to accommodate operating textile machinery. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (PDF). Retrieved March 4, 2019..
↑ From 1915 to 1972, the exhibition was held in 1915, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972. Clemson Library Special Collections
↑ Gilkerson, 80; Archie Vernon Huff, Jr., Greenville: A History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), 390. The building itself was known successively as New Textile Hall, Palmetto Expo Center, Carolina First Convention Center, TD Convention Center, and finally in 2018, Greenville Convention Center. GSA Business Report.
↑ South Carolina Encyclopedia.
↑ AreaDevelopment.
↑ South Carolina Encyclopedia. At the final show, many exhibitors "opted for smaller booths and offered product literature rather than demonstrating actual running machinery." Textile World, November 1, 2004. Exhibition records, 1915-1973, are held by Clemson University. Clemson Library Special Collections.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] E.D.G., "South Carolina's Mills," New York Times, February 4, 1900, 8.

[2] Ray Belcher, Greenville County, Carolina: From Cotton Fields to Textile Center of the World (Charleston: History Press, 2006), 63-65.

[3] Yancey S. Gilkerson, "Textile Hall's First Sixty Years," Proceedings and Papers of the Greenville County Historical Society, 5 (1980), 77-78. The five-story Textile Hall, approximately 101 by 235 feet, was designed by J. E. Sirrine and Company in Renaissance Revival style and was built by Fiske-Carter Construction Company on West Washington Street, near its intersection with Academy Street, in the western part of Greenville's central business district. Its auditorium, on the second level, included a stage and a balcony; and the tongue-and-groove maple floors were designed to accommodate operating textile machinery. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (PDF). Retrieved March 4, 2019..

[4] From 1915 to 1972, the exhibition was held in 1915, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972. Clemson Library Special Collections

[5] Gilkerson, 80; Archie Vernon Huff, Jr., Greenville: A History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), 390. The building itself was known successively as New Textile Hall, Palmetto Expo Center, Carolina First Convention Center, TD Convention Center, and finally in 2018, Greenville Convention Center. GSA Business Report.

[6] South Carolina Encyclopedia.

[7] AreaDevelopment.

[8] South Carolina Encyclopedia. At the final show, many exhibitors "opted for smaller booths and offered product literature rather than demonstrating actual running machinery." Textile World, November 1, 2004. Exhibition records, 1915-1973, are held by Clemson University. Clemson Library Special Collections.