James C. Self*

James Cuthbert Self was born in 1876 on a farm in Edgefield County, South Carolina. His father was a country doctor who died early, leaving a widow and three sons.

In 1893, Self became a member of the first class to attend Clemson College. To help pay his tuition, he dug ditches for 8 cents an hour. After the first year, however, he could not afford to return to college.

Self worked as a clerk in a rural store, where he earned $8 a month. He saved enough money to attend business school in Virginia. Then he returned to South Carolina and became a cashier at the Bank of Greenwood.

In 1908, at the age of 31, Self took over the faltering Greenwood Cotton Mill as president and treasurer. He persuaded the manufacturers of machinery to extend credit to the mill for automatic looms and other new equipment, and eventually made Greenwood Cotton Mill successful. Self expanded his business by purchasing other mills, and by 1935, his mills were flourishing at a time when most textile plants were failing.

Self also built churches and schools in Greenwood and erected Self Memorial Hospital, which was considered to be one of the finest in South Carolina. In 1986, he was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame.