GRANITEVILLE - Elizabeth Craig stood outside the post office Monday with a stack of bills in her hand.

Like many residents in the small town between Augusta and Aiken, Mrs. Craig said she was not surprised by the morning's announcement that Avondale Mills could shut down all of its plants as early as July. Mrs. Craig, who had worked at Graniteville mills since she was 16, said she agreed Saturday to be laid off, however, rather than take another pay cut.

"I'd already taken three cuts in pay," the lifelong resident said.

Mrs. Craig, 53, said she did not know how she would recover from the latest round of bad news to hit the mill town.

"I'm afraid of bankruptcy now," she said. "I've about lost everything I've got now. The only thing I've held on to is the house."

Mrs. Craig, who said she has suffered from heart and lung ailments since the 2005 train derailment and chlorine spill that killed nine people and displaced thousands more, did not think others in the community would fare much better.

"This whole town's just a mill town. That's all they know," she said.

Aiken County Councilman Charles Barton, who represents Graniteville, said it would take time for the community to bounce back.

"Let's just hope that somehow, some way, maybe we get more industry in here to help out down the road," he said. "It's just going to take time for everyone who was displaced to get a job."

Phil Napier, the volunteer fire chief for the Graniteville-Vaucluse-Warrenville Fire Department, said the shutdown would leave many Graniteville residents unemployed.

"It's devastating to the community because this community was founded by the textile community," said Mr. Napier, standing behind the counter at his store, Napier Hardware Flowers & Gifts. "But we'll survive. We'll work to make the community move forward regardless."

Graniteville resident Tina Bevington said the closings were inevitable.

"The disaster wasn't over the day after the disaster," she said.

Reach Betsy Gilliland at (803) 648-1395, ext. 113, or betsy.gilliland@augustachronicle.com.