On June 6, 1903, after days of extremely heavy rain, an overnight torrential downpour sent the Pacolet River raging with rushing floodwaters through the mill towns of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Some reports have stated the water level rose to over 22 feet above the river’s flood stage, with the current moving more than 40 miles per hour.
Many have called this historical event the “Great Flood,” destroying six textile mills, over 70 homes, and killing as many as 100 people, leaving 600 homeless. The Pacolet River Flood of 1903 remains the deadliest flood in South Carolina’s history.
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Written By John G. Clark Jr.
