Date of Award
5-2009
Document Type
Terminal Project
Degree Name
Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)
Department
Planning and Landscape Architecture
Advisor
Dr. Victoria Chanse
Committee Member
Dr. Umit Yilmaz
Committee Member
Doris Gstach
Abstract
Drayton Mill, a former Milliken & Company mill in Spartanburg, SC, was once the heart of a bustling mill village in Spartanburg, South Carolina. When textile manufacturing was at its peak in the South, Drayton Mill was the center of life for the workers employed at the mill and living in the village. Drayton Mill closed in 1994. The mill was the reason the community around it ever formed. Now that the mill is closed, what happens to the people remaining in the community? What is the future of mill towns?
In order to address the recent increase in vacant mill sites in the Southeastern United States, this project proposes a new master plan for the Drayton Mill site with a focus on creating new and enhancing existing opportunities for personal experiences, place attachments, and meanings that will foster connections between people, the mill, and nature. The design principles applied to Drayton Mill and the Drayton community integrate the mill site, community, and greenspace with the goal of creating a new community environment. The plan for the future of Drayton Mill could be a model for the reuse of Southern textile mills.
Recommended Citation
Childers, Meghan, "What is the Future of Mill Towns? Fostering connections between people, nature, and the mill at Drayton Mill in Spartanburg, South Carolina" (2009). Master of Landscape Architecture Terminal Projects. 27.
https://open.clemson.edu/mlatp/27