Hosted by:
The Unofficial Site
Reading Room
The Reading Room contains texts, periodicals, and maps that deal with South Carolina history and specifically, Anderson County history. With the assistance of a Reading Room attendant, visitors can access and make copies of the museum’s collection of archival photographs, maps and documents for a nominal fee.
The room contains oil portraits of William Whitner, his parents, and grandparents. Anderson County native, William Whitner, created one of the nation’s first hydroelectric power plants. In 1894, Whitner leased Andrew McFall’s gristmill at High Shoals on the Rocky River six miles from Anderson. Whitner used the property to experiment with transmitting electricity. He succeeded in transmitting electricity over wires six miles into Anderson where it was used to supply homes and industries as well as street lamps on the public square. Later, with a business partner, Whitner acquired property at Portman Shoals on the Seneca River and constructed a new and larger plant. Anderson Cotton Mills, in Anderson, became one of the first textile plants in the
South to be operated by electricity transmitted over wires. Soon other mills were opened in Anderson including: Orr, Riverside, Brogan, and Gluck as the industrial movement came to Anderson County. At the turn of the 20th century, the county’s economic base expanded from solely agriculture to include the textile industry.
Further uses of electricity came to the region. A streetcar system was installed in 1904 by the Anderson Traction Company. Original lines ran from the public square to the mills as well as a new local attraction, Hollywood Park. The name was changed later to Buena Vista Park. In 1907, an interurban line was developed between Anderson and Belton. The line was later extended to Greenwood and Spartanburg. The streetcar system was abandoned in 1930. During WWII, the tracks were removed and the metal used for the war effort.
Today, hydroelectric power is produced at Hartwell Dam on the Savannah River. It was built in 1956 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The Portman Shoals plant closed in 1960 and is covered by the waters of Hartwell Lake.