Kendall Mill Historic District
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Kendall Mill Historic District preserves a mill complex that operated in Camden for several decades and a mill village where workers lived. The main part of the district contains eight mill buildings, the most notable of which is the four-story tall Wateree Plant, which features a six-story tower. The Wateree Plant was built in the 1899 and is one of two original mill buildings (the other is the mill office). A number of companies have operated occupied the buildings, including the H.P. Kendall Company beginning in 1916. The former mill is now home to a company called Covidien, which manufactures medical equipment.
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The Kendall Mill is a historic textile mill originally established in 1899. Now home to a medical equipment manufacturer, it represents how important the textile industry was for the community during the 20th century.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The mill was first known as the Dekalb Cotton Mill. It was designed by W.B. Smith Whaley, who also designed the Olympia Mill (built in 1897) in the city of Columbia. When the Dekalb mill began operating in 1901, it had 12,500 spindles and 300 looms. In addition to the mill building, 70 village houses were also built. The mill did not operate for long; it closed in 1902 and remained so for over a year. A new company called the Pine Creek Manufacturing Company was established and restarted operations at the mill in 1903. The new company increased the workforce to 250 employees and the number of people living in the village rose to 700.
In 1908, it was bought by a company called the Thomas Parker Corporation, which, in 1910, added 8,816 spindles, 182 looms, and built new homes. As noted above, the H.P. Kendall Company bought the mill in 1916. The mill was modernized with new looms and machinery, and twelve houses were also built. By this time, the village had a church, baseball team, store, and a band. The Kendall Company operated for several decades until it was bought by a subsidiary of the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Information about when Covidien acquired the mill is not readily available.
Sources
"Kendall Mill." SC Picture Project. Accessed June 9, 2021. https://www.scpictureproject.org/kershaw-county/kendall-mill.html.
Kolbe, Chris et al. "Kendall Mill Historic District." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. March 19, 1982. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1c3f20ad-e779-4ea9-8ee4-df15a3efbc79.
Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kendall_Mill_Historic_District.jpg