J. P. Stevens / Delta Mills Plants No. 2 and 3, 4351 Brickyard Road, Wallace: 2006

Delta Mills Plants No. 2 and 3, originally under the J. P. Stevens name, was a large textile industry and employer for this region for many years. Growing up here in Cheraw, I knew a number of other kids who had parents, grandparents, or other family members who worked at these plants. Almost forty years ago, my dad had moved my mom, my two older brothers, and himself (I wasn't born yet) to Cheraw to take a job with J. P. Stevens / Delta Mills and would work there until its eventual closing in 2006. In fact, he had been previously working at Graniteville Company, which would eventually close its doors around the same year. NAFTA took a toll on the textile business and manufacturing in general in the US starting in the 1990s and going into the early 21st century. You don't have to drive around too far in the southeastern US without coming across abandoned manufacturing buildings.

As you can see in the pictures, vandals and nature have certainly made their mark in the years since these plants closed down. I must admit that the Delta Finished logo is more than fitting for this place. I would have liked to have gotten some pictures of inside the front office area, but I prefer not to have glass embedded in my feet. Not to mention parts of the ceiling have collapsed; it's just a bit unsafe to be venturing inside. I also wanted to take a picture or two of the plants' water treatment facility that was across the road from the front office area, but overgrowth prevented me from getting up close, and the sun was in the perfect position to blur any photos.

After getting what pictures I could of the front, I drove down Delta Plant Road to see what I could find of the backside of the plants. What appears to have been the main employee parking lot now looks like it should have a tumbleweed or two constantly rolling around. The lone chair seemed to be inviting me to have a seat and witness the desolation of this place.

Though the guard shack has been long abandoned, the gates are locked. The rest of these pictures were taken through the fence. But wait, what's this I see here?



Why, that's part 2 up ahead and coming soon...

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