Stories from the Tree - Boyd's Mill

My Boyd ancestors settled in Laurens County, South Carolina and many of the family members were involved in the operations of the Mill that Samuel Boyd built.  Della Boyd Culbertson's diary provides insight into the mill and its importance in the family.

"The Boyd home was on the east side of Reedy River about one fourth of a mile from the mill. Here Samuel Boyd and wife Nancy reared a family of eight children, five boys and three girls. Samuel  also had a cabinet shop for making furniture. He invented a clock with all of the inside fixtures, wheels, pegs, made of wood. All of his boys except one followed the same trade. He handed down his profession as miller and wood workman to at least four more generations, sons, grandsons, great, and great great grandsons. Quite a number of his descendants were wood workmen of different sorts. One of his grandsons, Stewart Boyd, son of Sanford, has invented a number of things."

"Samuel's sons did a big business at Boyd's Mill. They built two and a half grist mills, and did a tremendous business. They had a saw mill, furniture factory, and carding and spinning plant, in a small way, they ran thirty spindles. They made most all sorts of furniture. David's three oldest sons, Nathan, Bradford and John all worked there. They had a large machine, turned by hand, to card rolls for spinning."

After Samuel's death, and after the devastating War Between the States, the three brothers that owned and operated the mill, David, Bradford and John, decided a change was needed.

"After the close of the war between the states, David Boyd and his wife, Tabitha, decided to go west. He sold his farm and his interest in the mill property. In November 1866, he and his entire family moved to Washington County, Texas. When David decided to go west, each of his brothers decided to sell their Interest in the Boyd's Mill property, as David was selling to a cousin Billy Boyd, whom they feared wouldn't be very pleasant to own property with – they all sold out. Billy Boyd owned the plant for years but only ran the mill and sawmill. After his death It was bought by Dunk Boyd (son of Sanford), James Downey, and S. C. Kerriman." 

The family record does not tell us anything further about the mill beyond that point, but a little research shows that the original buildings and machinery of the family mill eventually fell into disuse and were abandoned before 1900. But the location of the mill is known today as Boyd's Mill Pond, "a popular area for fishing and recreational boating. a spot that is well known to local fisherman for producing excellent catfish and large mouth bass, and for its size, would more likely be classified by most observers as a lake."

The pond came about in 1906 after a dam was placed across the river to channel the stream for an electrical power plant, seen above. Flooding, caused in part by the dam in 1908, washed away the last remnants of the original mill.

Now known simply as the Reedy River Company, the power plant is still in operation.