General Asbestos and Rubber Company (GARCO) Main Mill
National Register Listing
Street Address:
0 O’Hear Avenue (Bounded by O’Hear Ave., Empire Ave., and Virginia Ave), North Charleston, SC (Charleston County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817710190
Description and Narrative:
The GARCO plant was integral in the Charleston economy throughout the 20th century. The company provided jobs for the community and was a local leader in exports, while being directly tied to some of the most significant national events during the twentieth century. Therefore, the GARCO Main Mill building is locally significant under National Register Criterion A for significantly contributing to the industrial development of North Charleston and for the plant’s role in manufacturing asbestos and rubber products that met the needs of the nation and beyond. GARCO helped supply the American war efforts during both WWI and WWII, producing asbestos brake lining for Allied tanks, among other products. Later, the company also played a role in supplying NASA’s Apollo program. Built in 1915 the current building is the last surviving structure associated with the major GARCO manufacturing presence in the Charleston area and operated as a wind and loom facility. The end date of the period of significance, 1972, was chosen to coincide with the conclusion of NASA’s Apollo space program. GARCO produced important materials, most notably an elastomer adhesive known as REFSET (an acronym that stood for Raybestos-Manhatan’s Elastomer for Space Exploration and Travel), that was used on the Apollo spacecraft. The rubber soles of the astronauts boots for the Apollo 11 mission were also made in the North Charleston GARCO factory, making them one of the first man-made products to ever touch the moon. Listed in the National Register February 28, 2017.
Period of Significance:
1915 – 1972
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Industry
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
February 28 2017
