Lucky Strike Plant

T.P. Wood (Closed)
Tigerville, SC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

The porch at T.P. Wood Store looks like a natural place to pause before continuing through Tigerville. For generations, this country store supplied groceries, work clothes, gasoline, and the daily mail. Its weathered appearance reflected a building that had served as much more than a place to shop. 02-08

The store's history reaches back into the nineteenth century, with a post office established here in 1881. The Wood family operated the business through much of the twentieth century, and Willie Wood continued running it until 1996. His connection began early: as a baby, he sometimes slept in a drawer converted into a crib while his mother worked.

UPDATE: North Greenville purchased the property in 2007 and restored it. Renamed Wood's General Store, it became the university bookstore and post office in 2022, preserving both the building and its family association. 11-26

American Bemberg Corporation Plant (Abandoned)
Elizabethton, TN
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

The old lettered smokestack Bemberg is for a company that made belts for bias ply tires. A local was telling me the factory has been abandoned for about 40 years  which was about the time bias ply's gave way to radials. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 02-08

The towering American Bemberg Corporation Plant smokestack leaves little doubt about what once stood here. Its large “BEMBERG” lettering rises above Elizabethton, advertising a factory that stopped production decades ago. The stack remains an impressive sight, marking the scale of an industry that helped transform this East Tennessee town. 02-08

American Bemberg began producing rayon, then promoted as “artificial silk,” in October 1926. Along with neighboring North American Rayon, it brought substantial industrial growth and thousands of jobs to the area. The plants also became nationally known during the bitter rayon workers’ strikes of 1929, an important chapter in Southern labor history.

UPDATE: Bemberg shut down in 1974 after filing for bankruptcy. Its smokestack and surviving factory buildings remain recognizable reminders of Elizabethton's rayon-manufacturing years, long after the machinery fell silent. 11-26

CSX Locomotive
Erwin, TN
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

A CSX locomotive looks right at home in Erwin, where railroad tracks and mountain scenery have long been part of the same view. The town served as an important operating center for the Clinchfield Railroad, with locomotives, coal trains, and repair shops making railroading an everyday presence rather than an occasional roadside attraction. 02-08

The former Clinchfield route eventually became part of CSX, continuing its role as a freight corridor through the mountains. Declining coal traffic brought major cuts in 2015, when CSX eliminated yard switching and closed locomotive and car facilities, affecting approximately 300 employees. It was a substantial change for a town closely tied to railroad work.

UPDATE: Freight service continues through Erwin. After Hurricane Helene severely damaged the mountain route in 2024, CSX rebuilt the affected corridor and restored through service on September 25, 2025. 11-26

Olympia Cotton Mill (Closed) Columbia, SC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss The twin towers of what turned out to be the Olympia Cotton Mill is located in Columbia, SC. Atone time the largest in the south, what made this mill unique is not that the towers were more decorative than one usually finds on a textile mill, but that the complex still contained its original powerhouse. While the oldest part of the complex had already been converted into lofts, this part was in the process of conversion. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 02-08 Construction began in 1899, and the mill opened in 1900, celebrated as the world's largest cotton mill under one roof. Designed by industrialist and engineer W.B. Smith Whaley, it became a major employer surrounded by its own mill village. A Christmas Eve fire in 1995 seriously damaged the plant, and operations ended in June 1996. UPDATE: Olympia has been restored as apartments, preserving its massive brick walls and distinctive towers. The former factory remains a prominent landmark in Columbia's historic Mill District. 11-26   Olympia Cotton Mill Columbia, SC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss Olympia Cotton Mill Columbia, SC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Piggly Wiggly (Gone)
Pittsboro, NC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

The familiar Piggly Wiggly name gave this Pittsboro grocery a bit of classic Southern roadside appeal. Although the store was relatively new when photographed, its cheerful identity belonged to a chain whose roots reached back much further. For local shoppers, the Pig offered a neighborhood alternative to the larger supermarkets surrounding town. 03-08

Locally owned by Blake Andrews, the Pittsboro store opened in October 2007. It served the community for nearly eleven years before competition and changing shopping habits caught up with the business. Its final day was July 14, 2018, ending a comparatively short chapter beneath a nationally familiar grocery-store name.

UPDATE: Pittsboro's Piggly Wiggly is closed, and its former shopping-center space has moved on to other uses. The familiar Pig is no longer part of the town's grocery-shopping routine. 11-26

Mt. Croghan Mini Mart (Closed)
Mt. Croghan, SC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

The Mt. Croghan Mini Mart had the straightforward look of a small-town highway stop. Sitting beside Highway 9, it offered motorists a place to pull in for gasoline, a cold drink, or a few supplies before continuing across northeastern South Carolina. The modest storefront and roadside signs suited the scale of the town around it. 02-08

Stops like this served both passing drivers and nearby residents, combining a convenience store with the practical business of keeping cars fueled. Their appeal was easy to understand: a quick turn off the road, pumps near the door, and no need for a lengthy detour. The Mini Mart belonged to that familiar rural roadside tradition.

UPDATE: The Mt. Croghan Mini Mart has closed. The old building and fading signs remain along Highway 9, marking a former everyday stop on the drive through town. 11-26