company history
Who We Are
Thrift Development is a licensed general contractor in South Carolina and Georgia. We are a pre-qualified prime contractor for SCDOT, GDOT and NCDOT. We self-perform grading, storm drainage, base work as a prime contractor, and work with subcontractors to complete all scopes of work.We take on highway projects from various entities and provide a turn-key product. We have the experience, knowledge and expertise to manage all aspects of the project through completion.
Humble Beginnings
We have a long history of being a family owned and operated company. We pride ourselves on our heritage built upon hard work. The first traces of the Thrift family in South Carolina date back to the early 1800s where the first South Carolina residents of our family settled in Long Creek after serving in the Revolutionary War. Our present day Company can trace its roots back to Long Creek, SC, where the first South Carolina residents of our family settled, after serving in the Revolutionary War.
The first of our family business operations was formed in the late 1800s. After serving in the Revolutionary War in Virginia, John Thrift moved with his wife Elizabeth Thrift to Long Creek .Their son, Lorenza Rance Thrift married in Long Creek and had eleven Children, the oldest of which was Thomas J. Thrift born in 1865. Thomas and his wife Martha were instrumental in establishing the Damascus Community and forming the first documented family business operation by establishing and running one of the first apple orchards in the area (by the late 1950s, Long Creek would grow to become one of the largest Apple Producing areas in the Southeast). Thomas also ran a blacksmith shop making wagons, tools, furniture, and other items.
Thomas was known in the community as a strong believer in God and had a reputation for studying the bible daily as he rested on his front porch. Records show that Thomas walked four miles each Sunday to attend church. Our family remains guided today by faith in God. The oldest son of Thomas and Martha was Julias B. Thrift, born in 1889 (known as “Jule”) Julias married Maude Hamby from the nearby Whetstone community and had 10 children – Wayne, Ralph, Roscoe, Eunice, Helen, Eula, Lois, Thomas, Samuel, and Glenn. Julias’s son, Glenn, is the founder of our present day business.
In an newspaper article published May 1, 1986 in the Seneca Journal, the headline stated “Thrift Brothers Story is Almost Century Old.” According to the Article, the Thrift Brothers Lumber Company was started by Thomas Thrift in the early 1800s where the initial efforts were logging and saw mill operations concentrated around the Long Creek area.
The Thrift Family was also instrumental in establishing one of the first schools in the area, The Long Creek Academy, founded in 1914 by the Beaverdam Baptist Association. Under the direction of Reverend L.H. Raines, all of and Maude’s children attended and received education and Biblical training.
Julias Thrift had grown up working with his father in the sawmill operation, and then later in life joined as a partner in the business and eventually took over from his father. By the late 1930s, his sons (Wayne, Ralph, Roscoe, Tom, Sam, and Glenn) joined him and by the 1960s had themselves become the owners of the business. At this time, the business was known as J.B. Thrift and Sons. As the business grew the brothers continued not only the sawmill operations, but also began an earth-moving business. The brothers divided out the business operations among themselves – Ralph and Glenn oversaw the logging crews, Tom over saw the earth-moving operations, Wayne was responsible for operations and timber, and Sam ran the corporate office. The brothers continued to expand the business, and by the late 1950s their operations also included road and building construction. As Glenn and his brothers grew the business, they eventually took over ownership from their father and moved the base of their business operations to Westminster, SC under the new name of Thrift Brothers Lumber Co. & Earth Moving.
In 1967, the Thrift family decided to venture into the hardware business and formed Tri-County Builder’s Supply, Inc., operating as an Ace Hardware store in Westminster, South Carolina. This hardware venture has grown over the years to include six Ace Hardware locations, now known as Tri-County Ace Hardware, with locations in Clemson, Liberty, Pickens, Piedmont, Seneca, and West Union. In the 1970s, the decision was made to separate the business between the brothers. Roscoe and Ralph took the lumber company; meanwhile Wayne, Tom, Sam, and Glenn took the construction business and the hardware stores.
Wayne, Sam, Tom, and Glenn rebranded the construction company as Thrift Brothers General Contractors, and grew this business to become one of the largest road construction companies in South Carolina. By the early 1980s, Thrift Brothers had purchased three asphalt plants and were building roads all over the State of South Carolina. As the Thrift Brothers continued their business of road construction and hardware stores, they were joined in the 1980s by their children – Glenn’s son Gary and Tom’s daughter Marsha.
Wayne retired in 1992. In 1994, the decision was again made to separate the businesses between the remaining brothers – Sam, Tom and Glenn. Sam and Tom kept Thrift Brothers General Contractors, with a focus on grading construction, building construction, and property management of the buildings they had built over the years.
Glenn, and his son, Gary, took the hardware stores, changing the brand name to Tri-County Ace Hardware, and forming Thrift Group, Inc. to operate as both the owner of the hardware stores and to manage the family and land that had been acquired over the years. Glenn and Gary also formed Thrift Development General Contractors with a focus solely on road construction at the time.
Today, our present companies continue to be known as Thrift Development, Thrift Group, and Tri-County Ace Hardware.
Continuing Tradition
By the early 2000s, Glenn and Gary had grown their hardware store holdings from three locations to six locations across the Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson Counties. As for Thrift Development, Glenn and Gary focused solely on road and grading construction in the upstate of South Carolina, and quickly gained a proud reputation as prominent road builders. Glenn is responsible for the construction of many of the roads being used today across the upstate area.
Glenn served as President of both Thrift Development and Thrift Group until his passing in July 2009, when Gary took over for his father as President.
Gary continued the business following in the same core values which had been passed down from generation to generation, working hard, having a strong faith in God, and cherishing family. Like many before him, Gary had all three of his children – Rush, Hayley, and Ford, involved in the family business from a young age. Each worked summer jobs for the companies, both with the road construction crews and in the hardware stores.
In 2017, Gary's oldest son Rush joined him in the Company as Executive Vice President and General Counsel after graduating from law school and working for several years in private practice.
Today, both Gary and Rush continue to run the Companies runs today on the same core values we were founded upon – Heritage, Honesty & Hard Work.