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Founded by Ellison A. Smyth, Dunean Mill took its name from the river in Ireland where Smyth’s forebears had manufactured linen cloth. J.E. Sirrine and Company of Greenville was the architect and engineer for the mill, which began operations in 1912. In addition to cottages for the workers, the mill operated a day-care center and built a gymnasium, a ballpark, and the first YMCA building at a South Carolina mill.
The mill store, shown in this 1924 photograph by William P. Dowling, was utilitarian in its construction but included a striking Jacobean-style gable on the front. On the second floor was a meeting room, which served the operatives as both a community center and a church until other facilities could be built. Eventually Dunean was acquired by J.P. Stevens and Company.
The Dunean Mill store was demolished in 1994. Today the site of the former store is vacant.
From “Remembering Greenville: Photographs from the Coxe Collection, by Jeffrey R. Willis
