The area was named after the Slater family, who started Slater Mill in 1927 and built the village around it. Earlier the Slaters had started the first textile millin America in Rhode Island in 1790, Slater Mill, and owned mills in Massachusetts before moving their operation to South Carolina. In 1934 H. Nelson Slater, the mill founder, built Slater Hall, a community center for the village. In 1946 the Slaters sold the mill to J.P. Stevens & Company, and the J.P. Stevens' Slater Plant went on to produce the main material for the space suits used on the first moon landing in 1969 and space shuttle components as well. In 2016 JPS Composite Materials owned the mill, which was mainly producing fiber glass and sold it to B&W Fiber Glass.
Geography
Marietta is located in northern Greenville County at . The CDP consists of two adjoining communities, both unincorporated: Slater and Marietta. Each community has its own post office and ZIP Code. U.S. Route 276 passes through Marietta, while Slater is directly to the east. US 276 leads south to Greenville and northwest to the North Carolina border at the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. South Carolina Highway 288 leads west from Marietta to Pumpkintown. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, of which, or 0.14%, are water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,228 people, 875 households, and 594 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 518.5 people per square mile. There were 989 housing units at an average density of 230.2/sq mi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.96% White, 0.81% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.29% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.99% of the population. There were 875 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couplesliving together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.94. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $30,898, and the median income for a family was $36,190. Males had a median income of $26,950 versus $23,603 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,169. About 12.7% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.
