For the first time since its founding, the Town of Pelzer has created a brand and a new town flag that recalls its textile past.
“Everything is absolutely based on and inspired by Pelzer’s mill history as a true mill town,” said Pelzer Mayor Will Ragland. “Everything built in the town was built for the mill, for the mill workers – everything.”
Ragland says the town is proud of its textile history and wants to identify as a mill town. “That’s one of the reasons I call my theater company Mill Town Players, in tribute to that textile past.”
Town officials and residents also want to embrace the town’s past by revitalizing three historic buildings owned by the Town of Pelzer: Pelzer Gym built in 1922; the old hospital built around 1890; and the community center which formerly was a skating rink.
“Part of our goals for this year are to find ways to start improving all three of those historic properties,” Ragland said. “Pelzer had gorgeous buildings that were torn down or burned down. Just a few remain, so it’s important that we save them, restore them and capitalize on them as something that helps folks identify who we are.”
The Town of Pelzer engaged Lunchbox Creative in Anderson which held public forums to gain input on the look of a new town flag.
“I knew that (the flag) would be the most challenging thing to figure out and the thing most people would respond to most passionately,” Ragland said. “How do you represent what Pelzer is, has been and will be?”
The flag’s blue hues represent the town’s proximity to the Saluda River. Indigo symbolizes Pelzer’s founding by those from other areas of South Carolina, with two darker blue strips on either side of the indigo color representing the upper and lower mills. The darker blue also is symbolic of the mill’s smokestacks that people remember seeing before they were torn down or burned down.
In the center of the flag is an illustration of a gear that represents the industrialization of the town. On the front of the gear is a white acorn with white oak leaves growing out of it to represent future growth. In addition to numerous oak trees throughout the town, the family crest of the Francis Pelzer family features acorns, according to Ragland.
“I thought to myself, that acorn is kind of like Pelzer. Something small that has the potential for greatness and has greatness inside of it,” Ragland said. “I’m really proud of the way (the flag) turned out. It’s very unique. Now we’re going to be selling some merchandise – mugs, stickers, t-shirts, hats, tumblers. Anything you want Pelzer, I’m going to sell it to you.”
