The Shield, originally Spartan Shield, was a newspaper published for the employees of Spartan Mills, a textile manufacturing company headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In print from roughly the 1940s to the 1990s, with multiple issues published per year, The Shield chronicled both the business of Spartan Mills and the community formed by its workers.
Founded by John Henry Montgomery, Spartan Mills built its first plant, Spartan No. 1, in 1890. In doing so, it became the first company to establish a mill within the city limits of Spartanburg.1 By 1895, the mill employed 650 “operators,” who worked on 32,000 spindles and 1,100 looms.2 In 1896, the company expanded with Spartan No.2.1
It also founded a “mill village” for its workers, which was initially dubbed Montgomeryville but later known simply as the Spartan Mill Village. Featuring 152 homes for the company’s operators, it was, like the mill itself, the first of its kind within the Spartanburg City limits.3
In 1902, John H. Montgomery was succeeded as president by Walter Scott Montgomery. In 1929, in turn, leadership of the company passed to his son, Walter Scott Montgomery, Sr.
In the 20th century, Spartanburg County flourished as a powerhouse of the American textile and apparel industries. Spartan Mills also prospered – constructing new facilities, acquiring competitors, and employing thousands of people, many of whom lived in the mill villages built and maintained by the company.
In 1936, Walter S. Montgomery, Sr. acquired Tucapau Mills and renamed it Startex Mills, the first of many new additions to the company. Spartan Mills purchased Beaumont Mills in 1941; Powell Knitting Company in 1958; and Whitney Yarn Company in 1964. In 1965, it built the John H. Montgomery Mill, named for the company’s founder.4
While Spartan Shield was billed as specifically for employees of Spartan Mills, The Shield served as a unified newspaper for Spartan Mills and these subsidiaries alike, reporting on the general state of the company, business events, and employee accomplishments at all facilities.
Despite this growth, warning signs began to surface for the American textile industry in the decades following World War II. Textile and apparel manufacturers in the United States faced increasing competition from other countries. Imported goods were often cheaper than those produced at home, and although automation allowed American textile companies to keep pace, this came at the cost of factory jobs.5
The 1970s saw an oil crisis, a subsequent recession, and a sharp increase in cheaper textile and apparel imports. The Shield frequently opined on this greater business and geopolitical context, reporting on management’s attempts to adjust and exhorting employees to support the industry. Walter Scott Montgomery, Jr., who became president of Spartan Mills in 1972, penned editorials directly addressing the company’s outlook. The paper highlighted both global trade negotiations and visits from South Carolina politicians, indications of an industry in flux. As Spartan Mills reduced shifts and began to automate aspects of its business, such as the dispensation of unemployment benefits via computer, The Shield documented these changes.
By the mid-1980s, lay-offs in the textile industry had become commonplace. Spartan Mills, like other companies, modernized its plants, purchasing foreign-made machinery and downsizing its payrolls in the hopes of competing with imports. Spartan Mills still employed 5,000 people in Spartanburg County, but it nevertheless faced grave challenges.6
The 1990s were no kinder than the 1980s had been, and Spartan Mills suffered a string of plant closures. The Whitney and John H. Montgomery mills became the earliest casualties in 1996, with Startex following in 1997 to 1998. Powell Knitting and Beaumont held on until the late 1990s, with the latter closing in 1999. In 2000, the ailing Spartan Mills rebranded itself as Spartan International. In early May 2001, it abruptly closed its doors, leaving 1,200 people without work and ending a business of 111 years.4
1 Teter, Betsy Wakefield, et al. Textile Town: Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Hub City Writers Project, 2002, pp.39-41.
2 "THE MASSACHUSETTS MILL MEN: They Visit Asheville and Biltmore and See How George Vanderbilt Is Spending Millions." New York Times (1857-1922), Apr 06, 1895, pp. 2. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/massachusetts-mill-men/docview/95334298/se-2.
3 Teter, Betsy Wakefield, et al. Textile Town: Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Hub City Writers Project, 2002, pp.43-44.
4 Teter, Betsy Wakefield, et al. Textile Town: Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Hub City Writers Project, 2002, pp.307-318.
5 Teter, Betsy Wakefield, et al. Textile Town: Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Hub City Writers Project, 2002, pp.267.
6 Clendinen, Dudley. "Textile Mills Squeezed in Modernization Drive." New York Times (1923-), Oct 26, 1985, pp. 8. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/textile-mills-squeezed-modernization-drive/docview/111145628/se-2.