History of Spartanburg County, South Carolina:

Embracing an Account of Many Important Events & Biographical Sketches of Statesmen... and the Names of Many Others Worthy of Record in the History of Spartanburg County.

Seeing Spartanburg:  A History in Images

This is the most comprehensive pictorial history of Spartanburg, S.C., ever compiled. With more than 700 photographs and objects, Racine's book is a treasure trove of Spartanburg history. Inside the pages of this new book are the images of world-renowned photographers Dorothea Lange and Jack Delano and local professionals Alfred T. Willis, Harry White and others. There is a gallery of Spartanburg's mighty men and influential women, her colorful characters and earnest faces, her children at play and citizens at work. There are construction projects and demolitions, local triumphs and tragedies, boom years and hard times.

Spartanburg, SC:  Postcard History Series

Postcards are an important element of understanding our past, for they provide future generations a rare glimpse into a world that many times has disappeared under the aegis of expansion and progress. This book, containing over 200 vintage postcards, allows readers to see one of the South’s most historic cities as it looked in the earlier part of the twentieth century – a time when the city was experiencing unparalleled growth. Spartanburg, South Carolina contains scenes of early textile mills, postcards for the early military training camp at Camp Wadsworth, and images of the rapid development of downtown, showcasing Morgan Square, Midtown, Magnolia Street, and Church Street.

Author Jeffery R. Willis has created, in word and image, an insightful history sharing Spartanburg’s unique story and traditions. A treasure of visual history, Spartanburg, South Carolina will appeal to all readers, whether a longtime native, a newcomer to the region, or simply a visitor to the city famous for historic mills and New South industry.

Textile League Baseball: South Carolina's Mill Teams 1880-1955

After the Civil War, the Yankee textile industry began a steady transfer south, bringing with it the tradition of a mill village, usually owned by the mill's owner, where the workers and their families lived. The new game of baseball quickly became a foundation of mill village life. A rich tradition of textile league baseball in South Carolina is here reconstructed from newspaper accounts and interviews with former players and fans. Players such as "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Champ Summers made their marks as "lintheads" in these semipro leagues. The fierce rivalries between competing mills and the impact of the teams on mill life are recounted. Appendices list club records and rosters for many of the teams from 1880 through 1955.

Textile Town: Spartanburg County, South Carolina

In 1816 a pair of Rhode Island brothers stopped their wagons along South Carolina’s Tyger River, cleared away trees and chinquapin thickets, and began construction on a rustic spinning factory. From those humble beginnings arose one of the nation’s mightiest textile communities, a place that by the end of the 19th century became known as "the Lowell of the South."

Over the course of nearly two centuries more than 100,000 people labored in the red brick cotton mills and modern textile factories of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Textile Town is their story. One part historical narrative, one part scrapbook, one part encyclopedia, this illustrated volume presents the voices of scholars and blue-collar workers side by side in an exploration of this complex and compelling saga.

The Southern Textile Basketball Tournament: A History, 1921-1997

In 1905 Lawrence Peter Hollis went to Springfield, Massachusetts, before beginning his job as the secretary of the YMCA at Monaghan Mill in Greenville, South Carolina. While there, he met James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, and learned of the fledgling game. Hollis returned to the mill and changed the face of athletics in South Carolina.