Anderson, SC – Officials from the City of Anderson, along with supporting partners TBA (To Benefit Anderson) and The Rotary Club of Anderson, will unveil Textile Point in celebration of Anderson’s rich textile heritage. The park is anchored below the Murray Avenue bridge along West Earle and Orr streets.
The City of Anderson was awarded grant funding from the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor for the design and implementation of the project in 2017. The commemorative pocket park features enhanced landscaping and a clock monument designed by local artist Scott Foster. Verdin Clock Company custom built Foster’s design of the clock head, making this structure one-of-a-kind. Foster designed and fabricated the base that features imagery from the Anderson mills. At night the base will illuminate these images. The bricks from Anderson’s dismantled mills are a factual and symbolic part of the clock and represent times past, the present, and times to come.
The textile industry’s impact on the Anderson community has been enormous both economically and culturally. By the late nineteenth century, technology and business of the American cotton textile industry had matured. Textile technology was highly portable and designed to employ a variety of skilled citizens.
“At the original announcement of this project, I called it a game changer,” Mayor Terence Roberts said. “Now, as we celebrate the project and its completion, we are once again proud to underscore that this is a spark for future development in the West End. We appreciate all partnerships involved that have supported an opportunity to pay homage to Anderson’s foundational textile economy.” The contributing groups are the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor, the TBA (To Benefit Anderson), the City of Anderson, and The Rotary Club of Anderson in celebration of their 100th year.