“G” is for Gregg, William (1800-1867)

“G” is for Gregg, William (1800-1867). Manufacturer, industrial promoter. Born in Virginia, by the mid-1820s Gregg had set up shop in Columbia where he built a successful business importing and producing fancy goods. In 1837 he took over the management of the Vaucluse mill in Edgefield District and made it a profitable enterprise. He later relocated to Charleston and was a partner in the firm Hayden, Gregg & Co. In 1845 Gregg and several partners secured a charter from the South Carolina General Assembly to establish the Graniteville Manufacturing Company. Erected on the banks of horse Creek in Edgefield District, the Graniteville factory commenced operations in 1849 and quickly became one of the most successful textile factories in the entire South. William Gregg’s Essays on Domestic Industry found wide circulation and placed him among the South's leading industrial advocates.