One of the outstanding early leaders of Pickens County and Easley was William Milliken Hagood. He was the son of Col. and Mrs. James E. Hagood and was born at Twelve Mile on the Hagood Estate Dec. 29, 1850.
His father was elected Clerk of Court and moved with his family to Old Pickens in 1860, where her remained until after the Civil War.
In 1871, W.M. Hagood went to Anderson, where he was employed in the mercantile establishment of C.A. Reed, remaining there for three years until 1874 when he moved to Pickens and helped establish the firm of Alexander-Hagood.
In 1875, he came to Easley and established a permanent residence.
He served one term as intendant (mayor) in the early history of the town.
Also in 1875, he established the mercantile firm of W.W. Hagood and Co., and he established the Easley Bank in 1891, the first in Pickens County.
In 1917, he disposed of his holdings in the institution and organized the Commercial Bank and was president of that institution until the time of his death.
He built the Pickens Mill in 1907 and served as its president until 1925 when he resigned, and his son C.B. Hagood was elected to fill the vacancy.
He was also connected with business firms outside Easley being a director and vice president of Peoples Bank in Greenville, a director of the F.W. Poe Manufacturing Co. in Greenville and an officer of the Pickens Bank in Pickens.
He was married to the former Miss Kate Cleveland of Spartanburg, and they were parents of five children.
W. M. Hagood was a public-spirited citizen and helped to promote every worthy enterprise of the town. For years he was a trustee of the Easley schools, and was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, serving in many capacities.
He perhaps contributed as much to the progress and upbuilding of Easley as did any one man.
He died May 4, 1927, at the age of 76. Throngs attended his funeral, and attesting to the love and esteem in which he was held, several truckloads of flowers were banked on and around his grave.
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