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"M" is for Montgomery, John Henry (1833-1902)

South Carolina From A to Z
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"M" is for Montgomery, John Henry (1833-1902). Manufacturer, merchant. In the late 1850s Montgomery farmed and entered into general merchandising business. After service in the Civil War, he continued his farming and mercantile activities. In 1874 he moved to Spartanburg joined a firm that was largest cotton buyer in the county. He and his partners organized the Pacolet Manufacturing Company that began operations in 1884. Montgomery was president and treasurer of the company. Under his leadership, the company expanded to three mills. Part of his success was due in part to his skill at attracting northern capital for his second major mill project, Spartan Mills. By 1900 the upcountry mills under John Henry Montgomery’s presidency were consuming cotton at such a high rate that they had to look further south for enough supply of raw cotton.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.