Vaucluse is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Aiken County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Vaucluse is part of the

Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area The Augusta metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina centered on the principal city of Augusta. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Census Bureau and other agencies define Augusta's Met ...

History

Three miles from Graniteville and from Aiken, Vaucluse is the site of the pioneering

Horse Creek Valley Horse Creek Valley is a geographic area along Horse Creek, a tributary of the Savannah River. It lies within present-day Aiken County, South Carolina (prior to 1872, in Edgefield District / Edgefield County). The area is alternately referred to a ...

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

. Employing 50 'operatives' on 1500 spindles and 25 looms, the mill was incorporated by local planter Christian Breithaupt in 1833, with later investors

George McDuffie George McDuffie (August 10, 1790 – March 11, 1851) was the 55th Governor of South Carolina and a member of the United States Senate. Biography Born of modest means in McDuffie County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed ...

, John Bauskett, and William Gregg. Gregg found it under-capitalized and too small for economic survival, producing an unmanageable variety of products, and suffering due to a lack of active management. As such it served Gregg as a training ground for his successful Graniteville project of 1847. Gregg observed 'the most indifferent overseer's house in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, at least such as I saw, cost more than the whole village of Vaucluse, containing upwards of 200 inhabitants including a comfortable dwelling recently built as a residence for one of its owners'. The existing mill building ca. 1880 employed 300 operators on 10,000 spindles under ownership of the Graniteville Company until its recent closure. The Vaucluse Mill Village Historic District is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Incorporation

There have been talks about incorporating the villages of Graniteville, Vaucluse, and, Warrenville, recently, the towns approved a referendum to vote on whether or not to incorporate. If approved, the municipality would be around 20 sq. mile

Vaucluse has been the only one of the towns where a significant proportion of the population is against the incorporation. Many cite the fact that it would only include half of the village (the proposed municipal limits have to have a population density of three hundred, and using the other half of the village would make it impossible to incorporate)http://www.aikenstandard.com/homepage/311592674975197.php

References

External links

TopoQuest topographic map1884 Sanborn map for "Graniteville Manufacturing Co. Vaucluse Mills"1904 Sanborn map for "Graniteville Mfg. Co. Mill No. 2"1920 Sanborn map for Vaucluse Mill and environs
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Published as an appendix to

p. 16 * {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Aiken County, South Carolina Unincorporated communities in South Carolina Augusta metropolitan area