Poinsett Mill

Front: Originally established as the Gates Desk Company in 1893, the mill was renovated and re-chartered as Carolina Cotton Mills in 1900. Mill ownership built 123 homes to house supervisors and workers, as well as a church and later a school. In 1916 the mill was reorganized as Poinsett Mill, named for S.C. statesman Joel Poinsett, who was an early advocate of southern industry. In 1928 Brandon, Woodruff, Renfrew, and Poinsett Mills merged to become Brandon Corporation. Reverse: In the spring of 1929 mill hands at Poinsett joined workers from Brandon Mill in an 8-week strike to protest what they called “the stretchout,” an attempt by management to increase workloads in the face of declining wages. The strike ended when the mill agreed to minimal reforms. Abney Mills gained control of Poinsett in 1949 and owned it until the mill closed in 1981. The Reynolds Co., a producer of adhesives and coatings, acquired the former textile mill in 1983.