Fort Mill, a community once known for textiles and peach farming, is now rapidly becoming a business and residential magnet. Fort Mill takes its name from a colonial-era fort built by the British and a gristmill on nearby Steele Creek. Today the population of the town of Fort Mill is just over 8,000 people – a number that is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade.

One neighborhood preserving small-town charm is The Village of Baxter, a 1,000-acre community developed by a company owned by the Close textile family of Springs Industries fame. The community has tried to create a neighborhood modeled after small Southern towns. Homes are set close to the street and include porches to encourage interaction among neighbors. New, valuable additions to the community include a $1.5-million community center that includes a pool, aerobics room and meeting rooms as well as a pre-school, a public elementary school, a branch of the York County Library and a YMCA.