Arial Mill

National Register Listing

Street Address:

212 Rice Road, Easley vicinity, SC (Pickens County)

Alternate Name:

Alice Manufacturing, Arial Plant

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817739029

Description and Narrative:

Arial Mill is an early twentieth century textile mill located about two miles outside Easley. The main mill, warehouses, and waste house were constructed between 1928 and 1929; several additional construction campaigns in the succeeding decades created the current configuration of the mill. Arial was the last mill completed in Pickens County before the Great Depression. Another textile mill would not be constructed in the county until 1952. The Arial Mill complex includes the main mill, office building, warehouse row, waste house ruins, and a pumphouse. Commissioned by the locally prominent McKissick family and designed by the J.E. Sirrine Company with the assistance of Ellison McKissick Sr., Arial Mill is locally significant for associations with the Upstate South Carolina textile industry in the 20th century. Textile manufacturing was the predominant industry in the Upstate region during the 20th century and was a critical employer for Easley and the surrounding area. Upon the mill’s opening in 1929, it was equipped with the latest modern machinery for weaving and spinning, boasting 24,000 spindles. The mill operated until 2003 when the McKissick family decided to consolidate Arial’s operations at their newer Ellison, Foster, and Elljean plants. Listed in the National Register May 19, 2023.

Period of Significance:

1928 – 1973

Level of Significance:

Local

Area of Significance:

Industry

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

May 19 2023

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