“H” is for Hammett, Henry Pinckney (1822-1891)

“H” is for Hammett, Henry Pinckney (1822-1891). Industrialist. A native of Greenville, Hammett taught school and worked in a country store until he married Jane Bates, whose father was the owner of Batesville Cotton Mill. Hammett soon became a partner in the firm. After the mill was sold he moved to Greenville and served as president of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad. In the 1870s Hammett headed a group of local business leaders interested in building a cotton mill on Garrison Shoals. The venture became Piedmont Manufacturing Company and he was elected president. Hammett was one of the first postwar mill presidents in South Carolina to adopt the large-scale New England model of factory production. Henry Pinckney Hammett’s skillful management expanded economic opportunities for some in the upcountry and served as a model for subsequent mill ventures.