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Pros & Cons of Living in Fort Mill SC:

1. History

Prior to settlement by Europeans, the area of Fort Mill SC was part of a large territory of the Catawba Indians.  The original settlement was north of present day Fort Mill, where the Nations Ford Road crossed Steele Creek and was know as “Little York”. There was a grist mill, store, tavern, church and homes.  

By 1830, the current town became known as Fort Mill and was named for the old grist mill at the original site, and for a small fort built by the British in the 1750s to protect the Catawba Indians from warring tribes to the north. Fort Mill was incorporated in 1873. The post office opened in 1820.  In 1852 a railroad was completed connecting Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta. A rail station was built in Fort Mill where farmers from surrounding areas could bring their cotton and other crops for sale and shipping. This influenced the development of commercial buildings along Main Street.  Residential areas began to be built to house the local merchants.  

The town continued to grow. And in 1887, a group of local investors led by Samuel Elliot White, formed a textile operation called the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company.  Two textile mills were constructed which evolved into Springs Industries.  The Fort Mill Manufacturing Company built 30 mill houses for workers. By 1907, employment had reached 475. Some of the mill workers also lived in larger boarding houses around the town. By 1889, the town had 8 general stores, a bank, insurance company, a drug store and the mill store.

Growth declined from 1920 to 1940 due to the effects of the Depression. In the 1970s to the 1980s, Fort Mill was home to TV evangelist Jim Bakker where he developed Heritage USA. The town held a public hearing in October 2008 to propose an annexation that doubled the towns size. For more than 100 years, the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company and later Springs Industries expanded and merged with various acquisitions.  Textiles are no longer the predominant industry, but Fort Mill continues to grow and evolve into a modern, vibrant community with a colorful history.