Joseph Emory Sirrine

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Joseph Emory Sirrine

• Aaron, Matthew, Anna

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J.E. Sirrine

• He was born in Sumter County, Georgia, on
  December 9, 1872.
• He was educated in public schools in Greenville
  until 1888 and graduated from Furman University.
• He was married to Jane Henry, and had no
  children.
• His work as an engineer in the early years of
  Greenville helped to develop the towns business
  and industry.

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J.E. Sirrine

• He started working in 1890, as a rodman on a
  railroad.
• He then spend five years working as a civil and
  mill engineer.
• In 1894, a typhoid outbreak occurred in
  Greenville, and he founded the Greenville
  Hospital System with the Mackay, Goldsmith,
  Furman, and Ansel families.

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J.E. Sirrine

• Through his work with Lockwood, Greene, and
  Company Engineers, he worked in the Southern
  branch attempting to develop the manufacturing of
  cotton in the South to increase industrial power.
• In 1902, he organized the engineering firm of
  J.E. Sirrine and Company. This served as the
  foundation for industrial development in
  Greenville.

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J.E. Sirrine

• He designed the company store for Mills Mill,
  which is now renovated for apartments.
• He was the director of many textile plants, such
  as the Slater plant.
• By 1902, he had designed sixty-four mills and
  twenty-two major mill additions, as well as
  public buildings, sewer systems, and, during WWI,
  Camp Sevier and Fort Bragg.
• He also helped construct Sirrine Stadium, the old
  Greenville High School, and buildings at both
  North Carolina State and the Citadel.

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J.E. Sirrine

• From the end of WWI through WWII, he was noted as
  the single most influential person in Greenville.
• He served as the director of The Greenville News,
  First National Bank of Greenville, and banks in
  Richmond, Virginia and Atlanta.
• He was the president of the Chamber of Commerce,
  member of the board of the state hospital, and
  life trustee of Clemson University.
• He was a member of the American Society of Civil
  Engineers, American Society of Mechanical
  Engineers, and American Institute of Electrical
  Engineers.
• He died August 7, 1947.

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J.E. Sirrine

• J.E. Sirrine had a deep commitment to education,
  and donated a lot of his time and money to
  charitable and philanthropic organizations.
• The statement the income to be noted for
  assistance of deserving students on Greenville
  City Schools in completing their education.
• This resulted in the J.E. Sirrine Scholarship
  Fund.
• A building at Clemson University is named after
  him.
• Greenville Highs football stadium is named after
  him.

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J.E. Sirrine Scholarship

• The J.E. Sirrine Scholarship Program was
  established in 1973, at the death of his niece.
• Since that time, awards have been made to 2,545
  grads of Greenville High School for a total
  amount of 7,738,615.

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E-Mail Interview with Lillian Simpson, former
head of the Sirrine Scholarship Foundation

• Q What was your connection to Sirrine, other
  than being head of the Sirrine Scholarship
  Foundation?

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• Ms. Simpson Well, my father designed the
  original Greenville High School. He also
  designed Sirrines last home, behind the Poinsett
  Club. I remember it had an elevator, because his
  wife was an invalid and couldnt get up and down
  the stairs without one. That home has now been
  torn down for a parking lot. I remember Mr. and
  Mrs. Sirrine when they used to live on Main
  Street about where the Daniel Building is, near
  the Hyatt.

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• Q How was he a philanthropist?

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• Ms. Simpson Well, the main thing he did was
  helped young boys. Im not sure how many girls
  he helped, but he helped a lot of boys while he
  was alive. He was always interested in helping
  boys in the community to get to college. He also
  left money in his will for this. The Sirrine
  Foundation was started after his death, with this
  money, because of his interest in helping kids in
  the community. At first it was only intended for
  Greenville High graduates. This was back when
  Greenville was smaller, and Parker and Greenville
  were the only two high schools. But this
  decision to only help Greenville High graduates
  was tested by the South Carolina Supreme Court,
  when Knox White, the current mayor, protested it.
  This decision made the Sirrine Scholarship apply
  to all high schools in Greenville County.
  Recently, charter schools, such as Greenville
  Tech Charter, have been added to this list of
  schools where graduates can apply for the
  scholarship. However, the number of graduates
  that are granted the scholarship has dropped
  recently, because of the depression we are
  currently in. The scholarship fund has lost over
  five million dollars because of it. In the
  2008-2009 school year, 588 graduates were granted
  the scholarship. This number will,
  unfortunately, probably drop next year because of
  the loss of money.

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Sources

• Wall of Fame Plaque
• Hemphill, James Calvin. Men of Mark in South
  Carolina. Whitefish, MT Kessinger Publishing
  Company , 2008. Online.
• Cooper, Nancy Ashmore. Greenville Woven From
  the Past . Sun Valley, CA American Historical
  Press, 2000.
• Interview with Ms. Lillian Simpson