The Historic New Brookland Mill Village in West Columbia is still a viable neighborhood.  New Brookland, now West Columbia, served as employee housing for the Columbia Duck Mill, which was founded in 1894. Currently, the  New Brookland Mill Village is in the middle of a renaissance, along with a major $15 million infrastructure overhaul.

While the New Brookland Mill Village is high profile and still thriving, there was a mill in what is now West Columbia that preceded it. 

The Saluda Factory Historic District, in West Columbia, has a national historic designation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.   

The Saluda Factory was a four-story granite building erected by the Saluda Manufacturing Company. It was incorporated in 1834.  

The granite foundation of the Saluda Factory ruins can still be seen in an area near Botanical Parkway at the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens after entering on the West Columbia side. The mill became one of the largest cotton mills in the South. Several other businesses were located next to the factory including a general store, gristmill, tavern and several boarding houses. 

The  Saluda Factory operated on the river between the years of 1834 and 1884. In addition to the ruins of the Saluda Factory, the Saluda Factory Cemetery is commemorated by a marker.   

The Saluda Factory Cemetery, also known as the Saluda Mill, is thought to contain graves of supervisors and workers in the community of Saludaville, includes 31 marked graves and between 525 and 900 total burials. The Saluda Factory was a modest success before it burned.  It was rebuilt as the Saluda Manufacturing Company in 1874, it employed about 100 workers before it burned again in 1884.

A few steps from the maker, there are tombstones of the cemetery. Though the aged tombstones are weathered, the dates, in the 1800s, are still visible. 

The marker was erected in 2004 by the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, sponsored by the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company and the Mungo Company. The Marker Number is 32-32.

If you’re looking for a unique glimpse into West Columbia’s mill past, take a trip down Botanical Parkway and check out the historic Saluda Mill Cemetery. After you see the site, move over to the West Columbia Riverbanks Zoo Entrance at the Botanical Gardens and check out the ruins of the old Saluda Factory. 

Saluda Factory Ruins below – Riverbanks Zoo photo.