Work continues to create memorial for ‘the Old Mill’
A rendering of the Old Mill Park monument created by Blackmon Memorials of Darlington
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
For several years, a wooden sign at the corner of Pearl and Cleveland streets in Darlington promised that a memorial to the Darlington Manufacturing Company — known as “the Old Mill” — would be built there.
Although progress toward that goal has been slow, a group of dedicated citizens continues trying to raise money to complete the park.
“We need $20,000 to $30,000 to build the park,” says Peggy Sheffield, treasurer for the West End Heritage Corporation, a nonprofit group working to complete the memorial.
“All we have now is the lot and the monument.”
Completion of that monument, the park’s planned centerpiece, represents a major step forward.
Created by Blackmon Memorials of Darlington, the white stone monument measures 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide. It features three images of the mill and a dedication penned by author (and Mill Village historian) Bill Shepard. The dedication reads as follows:
“This Memorial is dedicated to the memory of the men, women and children who worked within the walls of the Old Mill.
“For more than half a century, the Old Mill contributed significantly to the economy of the town of Darlington. The Old Mill is gone, and soon all who worked within its walls will have gone, also.
“When future generations visit this spot and look upon this Memorial, may they pause and reflect on a time, a people, and a way of life that has come and is gone forever.”
Darlington Manufacturing Company was founded in 1883 and operated until 1956, when owners Deering Milliken & Co. closed the mill when workers attempted to unionize.
The textile workers sued the company and the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1965 ruled in favor of Milliken.
For decades after the closing, mill workers and their families kept in touch, bonded by their West End roots. Now, with only a few original workers remaining, the quest to establish a lasting monument to their history has taken on a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, Sheffield says this urgency hasn’t resulted in many donations.
“The reason we’re doing this is to honor the people who worked at the mill. There are very few left to honor who lived it, and many of the ones who have gone on, their children aren’t interested. And it seems like our town is not interested, either, because we’ve sent letters to 12 to 14 of our businesses and banks and it didn’t help,” Sheffield says.
When the letters yielded little result, Sheffield visited potential donors in person, but even personal appeals didn’t net many contributions.
The group investigated various grants and were initially hindered by their lack of official nonprofit status. The West End Heritage Corp. has since earned a 501(c)(3) certification, making them tax exempt and meaning that all donations to the group are tax deductible. With this development, the group intends to apply for community development and historic tourism grant money from local governments and businesses.
West End Heritage Corp. sold 93 brick pavers, etched with dedications to Mill Village families and mill workers, and these pavers will be installed in the park. Sales of the pavers helped pay for the monument, but much work remains ahead.
Plans for the Old Mill Park call for a 3-foot-high wall with concrete footing at a total cost of $7,063, and a 35-yard cement pad with brick pavers at an estimated cost (not including labor) of $10,719.
Excluding the monument, benches, flag poles and landscaping, the estimated cost for the park would total about $17,833. The group needs at least $20,000 to cover construction, permits and taxes.
The building cost estimates were completed in January 2015 and do not factor inflation.
Those wishing to make a donation can contact West End Heritage Corp., C/O Peggy Sheffield, 108 Columbian St., Darlington SC 29532. For more information, call Sheffield at 843-618-0879.