Pelzer

History

Pelzer was founded in the 19th century as a mill town around several mill sites on the Saluda River developed by the Pelzer Manufacturing Company. The first (lower) mill was completed in 1882; two additional expansions were referred to as mills 2 and 3, with construction of the 4th mill (the upper mill) starting in 1896. Pelzer Manufacturing drew power from two dams built along the Saluda River, which generated power with the help of the first generators ever sold by General Electric. The factory was the first in the country to use incandescent lighting. The company and town were named for Francis J. Pelzer, who surveyed sites along the river and laid out the town, and was, along with William Lebby and Ellison A. Smyth, one of the founders of Pelzer Manufacturing. The first president and treasurer of the company was Ellison Adger Smyth, who held the corporate titles for 43 years. When Smyth decided to build the fourth mill, he initially selected a site four miles downriver from the town along a shoal, necessitating construction of a new mill town. Eventually, however, Smyth decided to build a new mill at Pelzer and began construction at the Upper Mill site, with power generation coming from the downstream shoals and dam. This was the first instance of a mill in South Carolina not built immediately adjacent to its power-generation facility; Smyth contracted General Electric (GE) to build the power lines between the new dam and the existing town, a first in the industry that many competitors argued was doomed to fail. Smyth allowed GE to use the new Upper Mill as a testing ground for new electric generators and motors, which initially cost Pelzer Manufacturing money and made the new mill a money loser for several years, though it did become profitable over…

Geography

Pelzer is located in Anderson County, beside the Saluda River. On the town's western border is the town of West Pelzer, and the town of Williamston is to the south. Anderson, the county seat, is to the southwest, and the center of Greenville is to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,479
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  8,683
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,435
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  7,198
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,844
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  6,798
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,151
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,035

Most recent

• M 2.54 — 2025-08-23
  4 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 3.04 — 2025-08-23
  3 km N of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 2.88 — 2025-08-23
  3 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 2.73 — 2025-08-14
  7 km N of Columbus, North Carolina
• M 2.7 — 2025-07-05
  11 km ENE of Parksville, South Carolina
• M 2.53 — 2024-10-13
  3 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina