Startex bridge dedicated to Fitzhugh Powers, policeman during historic mill's final decades
Startex leaders took time Thursday to recognize the mill village's history and honor one of its most respected residents and public servants.
The currently used Main Street bridge crossing the Middle Tyger River was named Thursday for the late Fitzhugh Powers.
He was the Startex policeman and constable for the Startex Mills and Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. And Powers became the assistant chief of the Startex Fire Department.
Under a tent amid a drenching rain, roughly 50 residents, former mill workers, family and friends turned out to celebrate the naming of the "Fitzhugh David Powers Memorial Bridge."
"He was a great husband, father, papa, son and brother that took care of his own," said former Startex resident Donald Jones, founder of the Startex-Tucapau Preservation Foundation and event organizer. "He loved his family and his community. He had the quiet respect of his neighbors and friends."
The current bridge was erected several years ago to replace the nearby old iron bridge, which is closed to traffic. Plans are underway to restore the old bridge as part of a pedestrian trail.
Joel Smith, district traffic engineer for the S.C. Department of Transportation, posted the bridge sign. Powers' family members received replicas.
The S.C. General Assembly passed a resolution dedicating the bridge. State Sen. Scott Talley from Spartanburg authored the act but could not attend the event.
Fitzhugh Powers kept the peace
Powers, an Army veteran of the Korean War, kept the peace in Startex during the mill's final decades. He died at the age of 79 in 2007. He and his late wife Pauline were married for 51 years.
His son Frankie, 66, said he was 14 years old when his dad became a policeman about 52 years ago.
"He was just a super good person. He didn't rule with an iron fist. He showed a lot of mercy, He was a really strong guy, although he never pushed his weight around. A lot of grown men that came through Fitzhugh Powers' path came out better. He really taught me what law enforcement was supposed to be like."
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, a Startex native
"Even the bad guys liked Fitzhugh Powers," Frankie said. "He was a good cop, just always helping people, helping the community."
A fan of NASCAR, Powers was also an employee of Cotton Owens Racing Enterprises.
"We went to every stock car race up and down the East Coast," Frankie said.
Former Startex resident Jesse West, who died in 2017 at age 73, wrote in his later years about Powers.
"I used to accompany my father to the mill after hours, and we would go through different parts of the mill," West wrote. "Fitzhugh used to doff big rolls of cloth or yarn, and I was impressed at the size of his arms. In those days, Fitzhugh was well-built and hard as a rock."
West recalled that as a member of the Ruritan Club, Powers helped form a volunteer fire department in Startex.
"Fitzhugh Powers never did anything halfway," West wrote. "He went at anything and everything full steam."
Among those at Thursday's ceremony were Startex native and Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright and Herman Whitaker, former personnel manager at Startex Mills.
Wright said he looked up to Powers growing up.
"He was just a super good person," Wright said. "He didn't rule with an iron fist. He showed a lot of mercy, He was a really strong guy, although he never pushed his weight around. A lot of grown men that came through Fitzhugh Powers' path came out better. He really taught me what law enforcement was supposed to be like."
Startex: One-thriving mill village
Capt. John H. Montgomery founded the Startex-Tucapau Mill and began the operation in 1896.
At its height in the 1960s, the cotton cloth mill at Startex employed 1,100 workers who lived in 350 village houses. Like most mills in the Upstate, Startex Mills eventually closed in 1997.
Most of the mill buildings are now gone, but the foundations remain. Still standing are the bleachery, management offices, company store, post office, warehouse, water tanks and two smokestacks.
Startex future includes trails, development
Jones said plans with the Tyger River Foundation are underway to restore the old iron bridge across the river, which is closed to the public. It will become part of a park and trail system.
Also, Spartanburg developer John Montgomery, great-great-grandson of the founder, is planning to redevelop 60 acres of the former mill site into offices, apartments and a restaurant.
At Thursday's ceremony, former state Rep. Rita Allison of Lyman spoke of connecting the village's past and future.
She said her grandfather and grandmother once operated a small grocery store near Startex.
"Our roots go deep in this community," Allison said. "I remember as a child crossing that bridge that is now going to be a real venue for all of you and the future. Love goes deep in this community, and it has a great future ahead."
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Startex names bridge in memory of Fitzhugh Powers, who was a policeman
