Historic Jones Mill fire: What happened, and what's next? (2024)

The historic Jones Mill in Fountain Inn was damaged following a fire June 17 between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

The mill was undergoing restoration work and the fire on Jones Mill Road is believed to have started on the second floor near the wheel. While the extent of the damage is not known at this time, the top level and roof of the structure are gone and some of the second-level renovation work was also lost, said Charles “Buddy” Gray, chairman of Jones Mill Committee of Fountain Inn Museum.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was onsite June 18 to investigate the fire and Fountain Inn Fire Department has completed its investigation. Results from both agencies were not available as of June 21.

What is Jones Mill?

Once known as Stone’s Mill, the property originally housed a sawmill and woolen mill, which were built around 1813 by American Revolution veteran John Bruce.

Prior to 1860, Jesse K. Stone used slave labor to build the present mill, which is made of heart pine with a granite foundation.

In 1899, the mill complex was sold to R.B. Holland, then to the Jones family soon afterward and the property’s name changed to Jones Mill. Walter T. Jones used the property to grind corn and wheat, run a cotton gin, and operate a small grocery store for many years.

“The mill was pretty important even into the 1940s and ’50s because it was sort of a social gathering place where people went on dates and had picnics,” Gray said. “It was sort of like a little park way back in that era.”

After the mill shut down in the 1950s, the property fell into disrepair. In 2018, the Jones Mill Committee was formed and discussions began on how to restore the mill and its surrounding area to its previous state.

Looking at Jones Mill’s future

Jones Mill was declared a historical site by Greenville County in 2022.

With its historical status acknowledged, the Jones Mill Committee has been working to breathe new life into the property.

“The first thing we are going to do is restore the building,” Gray said. It “was in really bad shape. We are going to change the building back to the original look. When we got the mill and the land, (the mill) had tin siding. The original building didn’t have tin siding (or) a tin roof.”

Once the building is restored, the committee plans to return the wheel to working order and show children visiting on field trips how hydropower and the grinding stones work.

Other plans for the property include:

• Building an outdoor classroom to accommodate 60 to 70 people on the hill next to the mill
• Adding permanent bathrooms near the entrance to the mill
• Installing a pedestrian bridge over Durbin Creek
• Establishing a nature park with walking trails and informative displays about plants visitors may see and animals they may encounter
• Building a picnic shelter
• Adding swings and seats under the property’s giant oaks

Restoration work on Jones Mill is expected to be done in fall 2024, with the work on the mill’s wheel and the pedestrian bridge’s installation to be completed at a later date.

For more information, visit jonesmill29644.org.

Related Topics

• Fountain Inn
• Greenville County
• Jones Mill