Central Roller Mills
National Register Listing
Street Address:
300 Madden Bridge Rd, Central, SC (Pickens County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817739027
Description and Narrative:
Central Roller Mills, organized and constructed in 1903, is significant for its association with the roller mill industry in South Carolina from the earliest years of the twentieth century until almost the last quarter of the century, and as the only known extant and intact such mill in South Carolina. The mill played a significant role in shaping and supporting the economy of the town of Central from 1903 until it closed its doors in the early 1980s. When the mill opened it brought employment and revitalization to a struggling town. The mill acted as a food supply for Central and the surrounding area of Pickens County, supplying local schools with flour for bread. The original Central Roller Mills property was a three-story brick building with a one-story wing on the right (east) side. By 1938 additions included fourteen exterior silos, a second story addition to the original one-story portion of the building, a one-story building addition, a four-story tower addition for the bucket elevators, several connection alleys, a feed mill, two wooden storage buildings, a storage tank, and a three-story addition to the left of the original building to house nine storage silos. Currently, the property is comprised of three connecting buildings, four stand-alone buildings, fourteen exterior silos, and a storage tank, encompassing approximately 11,000 square feet on 1.18 acres of relatively flat, grassy land. Nineteen buildings and structures contribute to the significance of the listed property. Grist mills were designed to grind all dry, free-flowing grains and corn into flour, meal, or grits. Roller mills increased the amount of flour and sped up the milling process from the traditional millstone ground operation, thereby producing more marketable flour. As millers transitioned to the new equipment and installed roller mills, their operations became known as roller mills instead of grist mills. Listed in the National Register June 25, 2013.
Period of Significance:
1903 – 1963;1903;1934 – 1938
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Industry
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
June 25 2013
