Wellford grew around the railroad. The line came through in 1876 with a depot and a water tower, the community took its name in 1881 from railroad director C.P.A. Wellford, and the city was chartered in 1882. It has been growing again lately, from about 2,400 people in 2010 to about 3,300 in 2020.
Wellford is the W in SJWD, the Startex-Jackson-Wellford-Duncan Water District, which was formed in 1956 to serve these mill and railroad towns and still supplies the water. SJWD water is very soft. The City of Wellford provides sewer in the developed parts of town, billed through SJWD, while homes farther out are on septic. Natural gas comes from the Greer Commission of Public Works, whose territory runs east as far as Wellford.
Wellford permits its own construction work, so plumbing and gas permits for addresses inside the city go through City Hall on Syphrit Road rather than the county.
Gas Guys is based in Spartanburg, a few minutes east on US 29, and answers 24/7. A leaking water heater or a gas smell at night gets a person on the phone, and the same company handles both the gas side and the plumbing side of the job.
Wellford at a glance
- Natural gas
- Greer CPW. Wellford sits at the eastern edge of Greer CPW's gas territory, so check your bill to confirm the supplier; rural homes beyond the mains use propane.
- Water
- SJWD Water District
- Sewer
- City of Wellford (billed through SJWD); septic in rural areas
- Permits
- City of Wellford
- Housing
- Older railroad-era homes near the center of town, mid-century houses, and newer subdivisions as the city has grown.
Plumbing and gas in Wellford: what to know
In town or out
City limits matter twice in Wellford: for sewer and for permits. Inside, you are likely on city sewer and the city permits the work. Outside, you may be on septic, and Spartanburg County permits the work. Knowing which applies is the first question on any drain or remodel job.
Septic homes around town
On septic, slow drains everywhere in the house point to the tank or drain field, which is a septic contractor's work. A single slow drain or a toilet that clogs over and over is usually a blockage in the house drain. A camera run down the line toward the tank shows which one you have.
Greer CPW and new gas appliances
Because Greer CPW is the gas utility, meter changes, new service lines and utility-side leaks go through them. If a new appliance pushes the house past what the meter can deliver, CPW has to upgrade it on their schedule, so we flag that early, before the appliance arrives.
Older pipes in the old core
Houses near the old depot and the center of town are older than the subdivisions around them, and their supply lines may be galvanized steel and their drains cast iron. Rusty water, low pressure and slow drains are the usual signs that a section is due for replacement.
New houses, CSST and bonding
Wellford added roughly 900 residents between 2010 and 2020, and newer houses are often plumbed for gas in CSST, the flexible yellow- or black-jacketed tubing. CSST has to be bonded to the home's electrical grounding system to protect it from lightning. When a gas appliance is added to a newer house, that bonding should be checked along with the line size.