"S" is for Spartanburg Methodist College. Spartanburg Methodist College is a four-year institution related to the United Methodist Church and located in western Spartanburg County. The college traces its roots to the Textile Industrial Institute (TII) founded in 1911 by David English Comak—pastor of Duncan Memorial Methodist Church in the Spartan Mill village. As a student, Comak had been inspired by Wofford College’s president about the plight of southern textile workers and determined to devote his life to a ministry among mill workers. TII’s students alternately attended school one week—then worked in the mill one week. The South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, adopted the school as its mission in 1912. In 1942 the institution became Spartanburg Junior College, a name it retained until 1974, when it became Spartanburg Methodist College.
