Organized in 1899, the Brandon Mill in Greenville, SC is one of the most famous mills in Upstate South Carolina. Young Joe Jackson was a floor sweeper in the cotton mill. He played for Brandon Mills baseball team, then in 1907 he joined the Greenville Spinners. While playing for the Greenville Spinners, he was given the nickname "Shoeless Joe" and was famous around town. Shoeless Joe stepped out of the mill town teams into the major league, joining the Chicago White Sox:

http://www.shoelessjoejackson.com/

1,200 mill employees walked out in 1929 over bad working conditions inside the mill. For the first time in the South, the state inspected the bad conditions, which later improved.

Today, Brandon Mill is being converted into condos.

http://scmillhills.com/mills/brandon/