The Comprehensive Plan represents the community's collective vision for the future. The Plan is a policy document which will provide a long-range strategic vision and direction to guide how the City grows and develops over the next 10 to 20 years. The State of South Carolina requires that all comprehensive plans consider, at a minimum, ten elements which include population, economic development, natural resources, cultural resources, community facilities, housing, land use, transportation, priority investments, and resiliency.
Originally known as Trough Shoals, the area was purchased by the Montgomery and Walker, Fleming, and Company in 1881 to develop a textile mill along the Pacolet River. In 1884 the mill, built by John H. Montgomery, became operational as the Pacolet Manufacturing Company. As the mill became successful the town grew, eventually receiving investment from Seth Milliken, a New York merchant with the Deering Milliken Company. The mill owners built an entire town around their mill including all the housing, stores, quality of life and infrastructure necessary to attract and retain the employment needed to run such a large-scale mill operation. Eventually Milliken & Co became the owner of this mill. The mill operated until 1983 when it closed permanently. Pacolet has all the necessary components to see investment occur in the community, including a vibrant river, a beautiful mill town (originally design by the famous landscape architect Earl Draper) and the footprints of a large former mill development. The Pacolet Mills area of the town is still powered by the hydroelectric dams installed in the past providing sustainable green energy to its residents through Lockhart Power.