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1946 Statistics: C&WC Station #B123, Flag Stop, 34 car siding, 122.9 miles from Augusta and 8 miles from Greenville.

1914 Schedule:

Train #55 Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 9:25pm.

Train #52 Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 3:51pm.

Train #51 Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 9:36am.

Train #54 Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 7:17am.

Train #53 Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 12:38pm.

Train #56 Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 4:48pm.

1946 Schedule:

Third Class #53 Mixed Daily - Westbound to Greenville - 8:02am.

Third Class #52 Mixed Daily - Eastbound to Laurens - 9:17am.

"Greenville County , in the northwestern portion of the state of South Carolina , was opened up to settlers on May 21, 1784. The first land grant of 100 acres was made to Benjamin Griffith on June 18, 1784. The tiny hamlet began to grow as more families moved into the area. The first settlers were of English, Scots and Irish decent. Sometime before 1820 a new road was graded from Greenville to Laurens and it came through this new community. Grist, saw and syrup mills were located near Mauldin, as was a paper mill. A cloth factory was later established to make uniforms for the soldiers in the War Between the States.

Nearly every man that was physically able enlisted in the Confederate Army at the beginning of the War Between the States. The economy of the area dropped when they left and once the war was over, most of the men sold their land because they were unable to afford it. Many stayed on their former land as sharecroppers, while others tried to start over with whatever land they could afford.

In 1868, the McDaniel family sold 105 acres of their land for a mere $500 to Willis William Butler. The land was on the “waters of the Reedy River and Laurens Road .” Shortly after Mr. Butler moved here the community was first called Butlers Corners, then Butlers Cross Roads, but the town formed later was not named that. The community acquired that name because the Butler family lived at the only crossroads here, which was Laurens Road and the Reedy River .

Before 1882, the Greenville Laurens Railroad Company began to survey a railroad from Greenville to Laurens; the proposed route would go from Simpsonville, to the Reedy River , cross the river at Conestee and then go on to Greenville . When Mrs. Addie Cox heard of this, she appealed to her friend, Lieutenant Governor W. L. Mauldin, to get the railroad officials to run tracks through Butler Cross Roads instead. Mr. Mauldin was able to get the route changed and when the railway company officials approached Mrs. Cox for the deed to the acre of land for the depot, she requested that the station be named in honor of her friend, Lieutenant Governor Mauldin. When the building was completed a sign reading MAULDIN was nailed to the front.

By 1890 Butlers Cross Roads had become a well-populated community with one store, a post office, cotton gin and train station and on December 24, 1890 Mauldin received its first charter incorporating the town by an act of the General Assembly.

After World War I ended in 1918, the town of Mauldin began to decline. Community residents rallied together to ensure that the Highway Department would not bypass Mauldin when building a new road between Greenville and Laurens. They succeeded and Laurens Road was paved. The Great Depression hit Mauldin hard. In 1932, some members of the town council asked the South Carolina Secretary of State to revoke the town’s charter because the town was so destitute. The mills were closing or only operating two or three days a week. Many people began selling off their land and homes. By 1940 almost every store in town was deserted; the train depot was abandoned that year as well, and the Mauldin sign on the old graying building was a sad commentary for the town.

However, one year later, the United States entered World War II and Donaldson Air Base was constructed and the personnel assigned to the base increased the economy of the area. When the war ended in 1945, Mauldin was on the brink of experiencing new life.

Iron-Rite was the first industry to build in Mauldin in 1951. When the company decided to move back to Michigan , the building was sold to Jack Greer, who moved his industry, Texize, into the building. With the advent of water lines in 1953, more industry moved in and the area of Mauldin, Simpsonville, and Fountain Inn became known as the “Golden Strip” because the locals called the water liquid gold, bringing an economic boost to the three cities." [Mauldin Chamber of Commerce http://www.mauldinchamber.org/about.htm].

"According to Mrs. Sara Griffin of Mauldin, the railroad was completed in 1885.  The company of Susong and Boyd did the survey for the depot and Fretwell and Russell of Anderson were the builders. Riley Cox, who sold the land to the railroad for $1.00, was the first depot agent.  Other depot agents were James Henry Morgan, Y.C. Caldwell, C.E. Graves, and Herbert Smith. Mr. Augusta Husbill was the passenger engineer and Captain Smith was the conductor.

Mr. Curtis Baldwin worked for the railroad for thirty years. He was the oldest child of the Baldwin family of Mauldin. The Baldwin family lived on a farm on Log Shoals Road. One day, after yound Curtis became a teenager, his father announced to the boy that he and Curtis were goint to take a train trip all the way to Savannah! He and his father boarded the train at Mauldin, and it stopped at every small town between Mauldin and Greenwood to take on more passengers.  After leaving Greenwood, the train didn't stop until it reached the Georgia line. They arrived in Savannah and stayed a full day before returning to Mauldin. Mr. Baldwin has noted that he made many trips on the C&WC while being an employee, but none was ever as exciting as his trip to Savannah with his Daddy!

Mr. Baldwin later was part of the C&WC crew sent to Mauldin to demolish the depot in 1953 after being abandoned in 1940. The men loaded all of the depot materials in box cars, which carried the materials to Augusta." [Laurens County Library]

The map below pinpoints the location of Mauldin in upper South Carolina.  The depot site is noted as well as the pictures that follow.

Photo 1: Current view, 2006.

Photo 2: Early 1930's view.

Photo 3: Current view, 2006.

Photo 4: Mr. Jim Willis Whitt in 1941 with the depot in the background.

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