On November 2, 1915, Greenville, South Carolina, entered a defining chapter of its industrial history with the opening of the first Southern Textile Exposition. Held at the Piedmont and Northern Railway warehouse on West Washington Street, the five-day exhibition brought together textile manufacturers, machinery suppliers, engineers, and industry representatives from across the United States. Featuring 169 exhibitors and attracting an estimated 40,000 visitors, the exposition established Greenville as an important gathering place for the American textile industry. Its success initiated a tradition of industrial exhibitions that contributed to the city's emergence as an internationally recognized textile manufacturing center.
The exposition developed during a period of substantial industrial growth throughout South Carolina's Piedmont region. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, cotton manufacturing expanded as railroads, northern investment, and industrial development transformed the region's economy. Greenville County became an important manufacturing district, while neighboring Spartanburg competed for industrial prominence. Textile mills employed thousands of workers and supported surrounding communities through manufacturing, transportation, commerce, and associated businesses. Greenville's growing concentration of textile enterprises provided a foundation for attracting machinery manufacturers and industry organizations.
Planning began in late 1914 when local representatives of northern textile machinery manufacturers proposed establishing a Southern exhibition. Prominent Greenville businessmen and industrial leaders organized the undertaking, including engineer Joseph Emory Sirrine and James F. Richardson. Their efforts secured Greenville as the exposition's location and coordinated the exhibition with the Southern Textile Association's autumn meeting. The organizers selected the Piedmont and Northern Railway warehouse, which provided exhibition space near downtown businesses, railroad connections, and accommodations.
The exposition opened on November 2 and continued through November 6, 1915. Its exhibits featured textile machinery and equipment associated with the production of cotton goods. Manufacturers presented industrial technologies to mill owners, supervisors, engineers, and other industry professionals. The gathering also attracted textile students from Clemson College and the Georgia School of Technology. Contemporary newspaper reports described displays concerning welfare programs operated by Southern textile mills, demonstrating that the exhibition addressed matters extending beyond machinery and production.
Greenville's commercial establishments participated in preparations for the influx of visitors. The Ottaray Hotel served as headquarters for exhibitors, while the Ottaray and Imperial hotels accommodated representatives attending the Southern Textile Association convention. Railroad companies offered special passenger rates. Contemporary accounts anticipated substantial demand for accommodations, including boardinghouses and private residences. The exposition consequently connected industrial promotion with Greenville's transportation facilities, hospitality businesses, and commercial development.
Attendance demonstrated the exhibition's remarkable public appeal. Contemporary reporting recorded approximately 9,000 paid admissions during its first two days, excluding exhibitors and association members. Approximately 5,000 people reportedly visited on the third day. The estimated total attendance reached 40,000 during exposition week. Frederick H. Bishop, president of Boston's Textile Exhibitors' Association, publicly supported establishing a recurring Southern exhibition. His endorsement reflected the growing importance of Southern manufacturing within the national textile machinery market.
The exposition's success prompted organizers to pursue a permanent exhibition facility. In September 1916, the Southern Textile Exhibitors Association was incorporated to advance that objective. Fundraising efforts followed, with Bennette Geer directing the campaign. Joseph E. Sirrine's engineering firm designed the new building, and the Fiske-Carter Construction Company of Spartanburg undertook construction. Completed in 1917 at approximately $130,000, Textile Hall opened for the second Southern Textile Exposition on December 10. The new exhibition accommodated 189 exhibitors within 29,250 square feet of exhibition space.
Textile Hall subsequently became a prominent Greenville institution. In addition to industrial exhibitions, the building accommodated concerts, conventions, religious gatherings, sporting events, and public celebrations. Its industrial exhibitions continued until 1962, although the schedule experienced interruptions. A replacement exposition center opened in 1964, extending Greenville's association with textile machinery exhibitions. The original Textile Hall was demolished in 1992.
The November 1915 exposition represented a significant transition in Greenville's economic history. It established a permanent relationship between the city and the national textile machinery industry, encouraged investment in exhibition infrastructure, and expanded Greenville's commercial influence. The event also demonstrated how regional manufacturing growth could support institutions serving industrial and civic purposes. Its enduring significance rests in Greenville's development from a regional textile manufacturing district into a major American center for textile technology, industrial exhibitions, and commercial exchange.
References / More Knowledge:
1. Bainbridge, Judith T. “Textile Hall.” South Carolina Encyclopedia. University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies, June 28, 2016.
https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/textile-hall/
2. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. “Old Textile Hall, Greenville County.” National Register Properties in South Carolina.
https://nationalregister.sc.gov/greenville/S10817723998/index.htm
3. United States Department of the Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. “Old Textile Hall.” National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, 1980.
https://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/greenville/S10817723998/S10817723998.pdf
4. Clemson University Libraries, Special Collections. Register to the Textile Hall Corporation Records, MSS 121. Collection finding aid.
https://media.clemson.edu/library/special_collections/findingaids/Mss/textile_1.pdf
5. “Southern Textile Exposition.” The Pickens Sentinel, September 17, 1915, page 3. Historical Newspapers of South Carolina, University of South Carolina Libraries.
https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/sn93067853/1915-09-17/ed-1/seq-3/ocr/
6. “Greenville Show Pleases People: Visitors Are Delighted with Great Southern Textile Exposition.” The Keowee Courier, November 11, 1915, page 2. Historical Newspapers of South Carolina, University of South Carolina Libraries.
https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/sn93067671/1915-11-11/ed-1/seq-2/
7. Greenville County Historical Society. “Textile Hall's First Sixty Years.” Proceedings and Papers of the Greenville County Historical Society.
https://greenvillehistory.org/collections/s/collections/item-set/1?page=2
8. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Greenville Historic Resources Survey, 2003.
https://scdah.sc.gov/sites/scdah/files/Documents/Historic%20Preservation%20%28SHPO%29/Research/Historic%20Contexts/Greenville%20Survey%202003.pdf