Manuscript Collection
Files
Download Finding Aid (321 KB)
Identifier
Accession 1771
Inclusive Dates
~1790s-2012
Restrictions
Open under the rules and regulations of the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections
Collection Size
1.75 linear feet, 3500 pieces
Language
English;
Scope and Content Note
The Rock Hill Economic Development Records document planning, redevelopment, and economic growth initiatives in Rock Hill, South Carolina, from the late eighteenth century through the early twenty-first century, with the bulk of the materials dating from the mid-twentieth century through the early 2000s. The collection contains photographs, city and regional planning studies, architectural and engineering plans, maps, land plats, newspaper clippings, brochures, and organizational records that illustrate evolving approaches to urban development, historic preservation, transportation, and downtown revitalization.
Central to the collection are comprehensive planning documents produced or utilized by the City of Rock Hill and the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation (RHEDC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing business, educational, and community development in the city. These include the Comprehensive City Plan of Rock Hill (1949), the Central Business District Plan (1964), the Rock Hill Comprehensive Plan (2000–2010), and the Ten Year Plan for Rock Hill: “Empowering the Vision” (ca. 1990). Together, these materials provide insight into long-range municipal planning, demographic analysis, land use strategies, infrastructure development, and policy priorities over multiple decades.
The collection documents major downtown redevelopment efforts, particularly those associated with the Town Center Plaza and Town Center Mall. Materials include proposals, financial data, architectural sketches, maps, and extensive photographic documentation of the mall’s construction, operation, demolition, and the 1994 “Raze the Roof” celebration marking the reopening of downtown Rock Hill. Related redevelopment projects, such as professional office building proposals, the Woolworth Building redevelopment, and City Hall planning, further illustrate changing economic and urban design strategies.
Architectural and preservation-related materials are also well represented. These include design review guidelines for historic districts, city planning sketches of Main Street buildings, renovation plans, and redevelopment studies for sites such as the Bleachery and the Guardian Building. Transportation and infrastructure planning is documented through materials related to the Rock Hill Gateway project, the Arts Center Transportation Exhibit, the Rock Hill Streetcar Feasibility Study (2012), and historic railway depot plans originally drawn in 1910.
The collection contains an extensive assemblage of cartographic materials, including maps of Rock Hill, York County, Mecklenburg County, waterways, bottling sales territories, and historic land plats dating from the late eighteenth century through the twentieth century. These materials provide important context for understanding land ownership, industrial development, transportation networks, and regional economic relationships.
Organizational records of the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation include promotional fliers, news releases, meeting photographs, scrapbooks, and press coverage documenting the corporation’s activities from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Newspaper clippings and ephemera further capture public discourse surrounding economic development initiatives, civic pride events, and regional growth.
Taken together, the Rock Hill Economic Development Records offer a comprehensive visual and documentary record of the city’s economic planning, redevelopment efforts, and civic vision, providing valuable resources for research into urban history, economic development, historic preservation, and community identity in Rock Hill and the surrounding region.
Provenance
The Rock Hill Economic Development records were deposited with the Winthrop University Archives on February 10, and April 21, 2022.
Copyright
For information concerning copyright please contact the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop University.
Finding Aid Citation
Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections, Winthrop University, "Rock Hill Economic Development Records - Accession 1771". Finding Aid 1510.
https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/manuscriptcollection_findingaids/1510