MONARCH — A textile mill that was a mainstay of the industry in Union County for more than a century has a new owner.
A “title to real estate warranty deed” filed with the Union County Clerk of Court’s Office on Friday states that Miliken & Company has sold Monarch Mill to Reagan St. Salvage, LLC, 1000 Foch St., Suite 110, Fort Worth, Tex. An accompanying affidavit states that Reagan St. Salvage paid Milliken $1.2 million for the property.
Richard Dillard, director of public affairs for Milliken, said Wednesday that Monarch Mill had been on the market for several years and the company had maintained it during that time. Dillard said Milliken is glad the property now has a new owner who may be able to find a new use for it. He did not, however, have any information about Reagan St. Salvage’s plans for the property.
The “Monarch Plant Site” is described in an accompanying exhibit as “all that certain tract of property situated in Union County, South Carolina and consisting of approximately 17.64 acres.” It further describes the site as composed of the property or portion of the property conveyed by deed to Monarch Cotton Mills by George C. Perrin, Rev. Spencer Dawkins and Parker Long on July 9, 1900, Feb. 4, 1900 and Oct. 17, 1903, respectively, and property conveyed to Monarch Mills by the Union County Board of School Trustees on Nov. 1, 1971.
Monarch Mill was built in 1900 during the wave of industrialization that brought the textile industry to Union County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In 2009, Milliken announced that it would phase out operations at the plant over a six-month period and close the facility in February of 2010. The company stated that the remaining air-jet spinning operations at the plant would be consolidated into other facilities as part of Milliken’s efforts to maximize efficiency in order to remain competitive into the future.
A company spokesman expressed regret at having to close the plant, pointing to its long history in Union County and praising its employees as the best in the world at their jobs. However, the spokesman said that maintaining the large, multi-story had become cost prohibitive given the small operation at the facility and the small workforce employed there.
Sixty jobs were eliminated when the plant was closed.
The announcement of the plant’s closing came just one month after Milliken sold the assets of its Anticon Products Wiping Cloth line to Contec, Inc. of Spartanburg. The sale, which became effective July 10, 2009, eliminated 45 jobs at the Monarch plant.
Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@heartlandpublications.com.
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