Anderson County · Marker 04-26
Oliver Bolt's Cotton Gin
3200 block of W. Whitner St. (S.C. Hwy. 24), 3 mi. W of Anderson and 1.3 mi. W of its intersection with S.C. Hwy. 128
Front inscription
The first cotton gin to be powered by electricity transmitted over a long distance stood near this site on the farm of Oliver "Duck" Bolt (1847-1922). In 1897 Bolt, whose gin had previously been powered by a steam engine, contracted with the Anderson Water, Light, and Power Company to furnish electricity for a 20-horsepower electric motor from its new plant at Portman Shoals, 7 mi. W on the Seneca River.