Startex began as Tucapau, a mill village around a textile mill built in 1896. In 1936 Walter Montgomery Sr. bought the mill and renamed it Startex, after the household textile brand made there, and the village took the name. The mill closed in 1998 and was mostly dismantled the next year. Today Startex is a census-designated place of about 745 people on just over a square mile.
Startex is the first letter in SJWD, the Startex-Jackson-Wellford-Duncan Water District, formed in 1956 to serve those mill towns. SJWD supplies the water and says it is extremely soft. SJWD does not run sewer itself, but it bills for the regional sewer providers in its area, and some homes here are on septic instead.
The village houses are now around a century old, and their plumbing has been added to and patched many times. Because Startex is unincorporated, permits come from Spartanburg County Building Codes. For gas, check your bill: Startex sits between towns served by Greer CPW, and Piedmont Natural Gas serves much of the rest of the county.
Startex at a glance
- Natural gas
- Greer CPW or Piedmont (check your bill). Startex sits between Lyman and Wellford, both in Greer CPW's gas franchise, while Piedmont serves much of the county; your bill names your utility.
- Water
- SJWD Water District
- Sewer
- Regional sewer billed through SJWD, or septic, by street
- Permits
- Spartanburg County Building Codes
- Housing
- Early 20th century mill village houses, some reworked many times, with later homes around the edges and redevelopment planned on the old mill site.
Plumbing and gas in Startex: what to know
Soft water and old metal pipe
SJWD reports its water at roughly 6 to 8 milligrams per liter of hardness, which is very soft. Soft water does not leave scale the way hard water does, so mineral build-up is rarely the problem here. In old galvanized pipe the trouble is rust from the inside, which narrows the line and shows up as low pressure and brown water after the taps sit.
Mill houses on crawlspaces
Village houses sit on piers or low foundations with crawlspaces, so the supply lines, drains and often the gas line all run underneath. Leaks under the floor can go unnoticed until the floor gets soft. A musty smell, a jump in the water bill or a hissing sound with everything off are the clues.
Your gas utility depends on the street
Startex sits between Lyman and Wellford, which are both in Greer CPW's gas franchise, while Piedmont serves much of the rest of the county. Before you report a gas smell or plan a new appliance, look at your bill. In an emergency, leave the house and call 911 first.
A changing village
Developers have announced plans to redevelop the old mill site with housing and retail. New construction near old houses means new mains and new connections in the area. If digging is planned anywhere near your property line, call SC811 so utility lines are marked, and remember your private lines are not.