William Gregg: Bringing Life Back to the South

William Gregg is an American jeweler and industrialist who founded the Graniteville Company. William championed industrial revolution earning him the moniker as the “father of southern cotton manufacturing.”

William was born on February 2, 1800 in Virginia. His mother, Elizabeth, died when he was just four so that William grew up under the care of a neighbor until he was ten. He lived with his uncle, Jacob Gregg, who was a successful watchsmith.

While William was in his teens, Jacob ventured in cotton milling in Georgia. However, the cotton mill failed to survive the War of 1812. In 1814, William worked as an apprentice for his uncle, Mr. Blanchard, a silversmith and watchmaker. This was William’s first encounter with watch and silverware. William went to Petersburg, Virginia in 1821 to perfect his profession.

When William completed his training, he established his jewelry business in Columbia, South Carolina. William became very successful in Columbia. In the 1830s, he travelled to many places in the US. In 1838, he began investing his fortunes and acquired interest in what eventually became Hayden, Gregg and Company, a jewelry and silversmith company.

William became interested in cotton milling. He acquired stakes in the cotton mill Vaucluse Manufacturing Company. Vaucluse taught William valuable lessons in the cotton business: one, how cotton manufacturing should not be done; and two, that cotton manufacturing should involve Georgia and the two Carolinas.

William went as far as New England to conduct inspections in the textile districts. These trips and his Vaucluse experiences prompted William to write essays which eventually became known as Essays on Domestic Industry.

Despite the fact that corporations were unpopular in those days, William and other Charleston natives sought for the incorporation of the Graniteville Manufacturing Company. In 1945, a state legislature ratified the charter of Graniteville. The locals helped build the mill. Its operations employed local farmers. The poor received wages similar to the rates in the Northern mills. William gave decent housing to his employees and provided them with medical care benefits at a low cost. He also built a small library and a community church.

Because of his invaluable contribution to South Carolina, he was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1856.