In 1898, Woodruff Cotton Mills was created and built a mill in Woodruff, SC, opening in 1901. With great profit, the mill expanded early on. The Van Patton Shoals power plant fed electricity to the mill sometime after 1907.

Woodruff Mill had different owners until 1995, when its doors closed forever. On March 26, 2001 the Woodruff Mill caught fire and was a complete loss.

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