Pelzer Working to Reclaim, Restore Historic Community Center

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The story of Pelzer’s historic community center is a tale of rediscovery, patience, and vision—a small-town preservation effort that’s finally coming full circle.

When Mayor Will Ragland first walked through the boarded-up building in the heart of town several years ago, he saw both neglect and potential.

“The bones were good,” said Ragland, recalling his earliest impressions five years ago. “But it had been sealed off in the early 1990s—vinyl siding on the outside, paneled walls on the inside—it felt like a shoebox that time forgot.”

Ragland said that initial plans to update the space met immediate sticker shock.

“I brought in an architect for an estimate before we had funding, and it was just too expensive,” said Ragland. Then came the pandemic. Council meetings moved elsewhere, and the quiet months that followed gave the town’s staff a chance to look deeper. “While everything was shut down, we started poking around,” said Ragland. “We got up into the ceiling, pulled back the walls, and realized the original building was still there under it all.”

That discovery shifted the entire project’s direction. Pelzer applied for a PARD grant to modernize the HVAC system and began exploring historic restoration as the better path forward.

“We realized we might qualify for historic tax credits,” Ragland said. “That was a game changer.”

The town soon began working with Preservation South, a consultant specializing in historic tax incentives. One hurdle emerged immediately: the community center wasn’t within Pelzer’s recognized historic district.

“We had to get it listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” the mayor explained. “That finally happened just recently.”

The pandemic-era discovery also intersected with an unexpected funding opportunity. “We received about six hundred thousand dollars in federal COVID relief funds,” Ragland said. “It had to be spent by 2026, and we wanted to use it on something meaningful—something that would add value to the community for generations. This just made sense.”

To stretch their budget, town maintenance crews took down the drop ceiling and wall paneling themselves, revealing beadboard walls and other original details long hidden. “We did the demolition in-house to save money and see what we had,” said Ragland. “It’s been a long process—longer than I expected—but the progress has been remarkable.”

When completed, the updated Pelzer Community Center will retain its historic character while meeting modern standards for public use. For Ragland, it’s more than a renovation; it’s a reclamation. “This building tells the story of Pelzer’s people and their resilience,” he said. “To bring it back—not as a relic, but as a living part of the town again—that’s the real goal.”