E.S.C. quarterly

              The E. S. C. Quarterly
VOLUME 10, NO. 3-4 SUMMER-FALL, 1952
Vorth Carolina Leads All States In Textile Production;
Due to Huge Recent Increase in Finer Yarns and Fabrics
hvo North Carolina Firsts—Early Schenck & Warlick Mill, Lincoln County (above) and Battle Mill, now
Rocky Mount Mills, longest continuous operation at one site and in one family (see pages 73 and 92)
PUBLISHED BY
Employment Security Commission of North Carolina
RALLlGH. N. C. BKffir DIVERSITY" LIBRARY
PAGE 70 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 195:
The E. S. C. Quarterly
(Formerly The U.C.C. Quarterly)
Volume 10, Numbers 3-4 Summer-Fall, 1952
Issued four times a year at Raleigh, N. C, by the
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION OF
NORTH CAROLINA
Commissioners: Mrs. Quentin Gregory, Halifax; Dr. Harry D.
Wolf, Chapel Hill; R. Dave Hall, Belmont; W. Benton Pipkin,
Reidsville; C. A. Fink, Spencer; Bruce E. Davis, Charlotte.
State Advisory Council: Col. A. L. Fletcher, Raleigh, chair-man;
Mrs. Gaston A. Johnson, High Point; W. B. Horton,
Yanceyville; C. P. Clark, Wilson; Dr. Alphonso Elder, Dur-ham;
Corbett Scott, Asheboro; T .. T ,.
| P^y, Raleigh ; Joel B.
Leighton, Rockingham; J. A. §£«|SfjW! IMfilf^^rW
HENRY E. KENDALL . f^lmimm " ' ^V^tan
BROOKS PRICE . . . . f. . .m^^Jmpm^^i^fiissW^er
R. FULLER MARTIN . . V . V%Q. .1 . fQM9irect\r
Unemployment Comj^^ation Dimsion&iJm; m
ERNEST C. McCRACKEN . ^^fr* QHlfM| g &&&or
North Carolina State EmployineWf^^^S^l^i^^r
M. R. DUNNAGAN Editor
Public Information Officer
Cover illustrations represent typical North Carolina
industries or business activities under the Employ-ment
Security Program.
Sent free upon request to responsible individuals, agencies,
organizations and libraries. Address: E. S. C. Informational
Service, P. 0. Box 589, Raleigh. N. C.
CONTENTS ~~p~ag~e
Textiles in North Carolina 70
A Few Yarns, Fabrics, with End Products, Made in State 71
Textiles Employ Over One-Third of N. C. Covered Workers 72
By Hugh M. Raper
N. C. Increases Lead as Nation's Premiere Textile State 73
By Henry Lesesne
Textile Industry Aids State's Sociological Development 76
By Mrs. Mildred Barnwell Andrews
N. C. State School of Textiles Largest in the Nation 80
By Dr. Malcolm E. Campbell
N. C. Vocational Textile School in Center of Industry 82
By J. Warren Smith
Gaston Technical Institute to Help in Textile Training 83
By Dr. J. H. Lampe
N. C. Cotton (Textile) Mfgrs. Association Active 46 Years 84
Textile Mills, Alphabetical by Towns, Operating in State 83
A Few of the Pioneer Textile Manufacturers of N. C 86
Erwin Mills Group in Picture 48 Years Old ; Three Dukes 89
Huge Post-War Growth of N. C. Textiles ; Many New Plants 90
By Paul Kelly
Rocky Mount Oldest Continuing Mill, One Family, One Site 92
Cannon Mills, Kannapolis, World's Largest Towel Producer 93
Burlington Mills Is Largest Synthetic Textile Producer 95
Cone Mills Operates World's Largest Flannel, Denim Plants 99
Erwin Mills One of State's Foremost Textile Manufacturers 103
Bobbins Mills, Producing Synthetic Fabrics, Expanding 105
Textiles-Incorporated Nation's Top Combed Yarn Producer 108
Johnston Mills Effectively Operates Yarn and Cloth Plants Ill
Roanoke, Rosemary, Patterson Mills Large Fabric Producers 112
American & Efird Mills Big Combed-Carded Yarn Producer 114
.1. P. Stevens Large -Diversified Manufacturer of Fine Fabrics 116
N. C. Finishing One of World's Largest Commission Finishers 118
Firestone One of World's Largest Unit Textile Plants 119
Erlanger Produces Fine Dress, Suit Fabrics from New Fibers... 120
Chatham, World's Largest Unit Woolen Mill, Blanket Leader 121
Leaksville Oldest Continuous Woolen Mill in Entire South 123
Fieldcrest Mills Produce Quality Rugs, Blankets, Spreads 125
Collins & Aikman Large Weaver Upholstery, Worsted Wear 128
Hatch Mill, Modern, and Excelsior Make Woolen Blends 129
Beacon Manufacturing Co. Makes Cotton-Rayon Blended Blankets 130
American Enka One of Largest Rayon Unit Plants in Earth 131
Valhalla Hand Weavers Making High Quality Woolen Fabrics..^, 133
Blue Bell World's Largest Work Clothing Producer L 134
Biltmore Industries World's Largest-Finest in Homespun r."!i. 137
N. C. Textile Firsts, and Notes; Association Officers 1"39
Note : Articles not credited with By-Line written by M. R. Dunnagan, Editor,
some in cooperation with representatives of firms involved.
TEXTILES IN NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina has forged ahead of all other state;
in the nation in the manufacture of textiles. Durinj
the first quarter of this century the emphasis was oi
building new spinning and weaving mills and in
stalling more spindles and looms. In the second
quarter of the present century spindles and loom:!
have actually decreased in number. The emphasi
has been on installing finer types of machinery anq
expanding operations in developing finer yarns and
fabrics and in dyeing and finishing the fabrics pro
duced, instead of shipping goods to other areas foj
the higher skilled processing.
Important in the movement for producing and fin
ishing higher quality textiles is the rapid expansioij
in the manufacture of hosiery. The original plai
for this issue was to include hosiery along with tex
tiles. Due, however, to the important developmen
of the hosiery manufacturing industry in Nortl
Carolina, it was decided that textiles, in the limite*
sense, is so important that it furnishes plenty o
material for an issue. And, it was realized, hosier-merits
an issue devoted to that industry alone. Thai
is the plan for the next issue.
Textiles have moved a long way since the days o
the Schenck & Warlick Cotton Mill in Lincoln Count;
and the Battle Mill at Rocky Mount. They were fore
runners of the cotton and woolen mills at Spray, th
cotton and then the woolen mill at Elkin, the mills a
Salem and Roanoke Rapids and in Gaston Count}
all along streams for water power. Development o
steam power allowed mills to move to higher grounc
Now electricity is the motive power. The next ste
may be to atom power.
North Carolina developed her textile industr
gradually, but with increasing momentum in thi
century. Profits from the cheaper fabrics of th
early days were ploughed right back into the indus
try, for newer and better equipment. Now this Stat
contains some of the most modern plants and mos
up-to-date machinery in the nation and the work
Today North Carolina has more superlatives—til
most of this or the greatest of that—than any othejj
state. Textile mills provide more employment tha
:'
all other activities in the State combined—thosl
activities subject to the Employment Security Law.l
The days of long working hours and poor pay havl
long since passed. Employees of textile mills in thij
State are well paid for their labors, work in pleasar
plants and live in comfortable homes. Employei
realize the value and importance of these condition
to the well-being of their employees and to the su<
cess of their enterprises. Safe working condition:
pleasant surroundings, provisions for hospitalizatio
and retirement, paid vacations, cafeteria servic
recreational facilities for workers and their familk
and other benefits are the rule today.
Historical, statistical and sociological (see pag
76) articles appear in this issue. Leaders in varioi
textile activities contribute valuable articles. A li:
of the textile plants (exclusive of hosiery) is ca:
ried. Articles are carried on about 25 of the largt
plants. These started small, all of them, and ha^
reached their importance today by application
brain and brawn, usually with little capital. Mar
others should be included in these pages—it is a ma
ter of regret that all could not be given detailed a
tention.
UMMER-FALL, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 71
4 Few Yarns, Fabrics, with End Products,
\ Manufactured in State's Textile Plants
Efforts were made to get pictures of many of the
irns, fabrics and end products produced in North
arolina textile plants. Many of the mills respond-l
and these items are shown in the picture on this
ige. Items in the picture were produced (with
veral end products) by North Carolina mills as
)llows: Erwin Mills, Inc., Durham; American
Photo by Robert M. du Bruyne
Enka Corp., Enka; Fieldcrest Mills, Leaksville-
Spray-Draper ; Cone Mills, Inc., Greensboro; Fire-stone
Textiles, Gastonia; Threads-Incorporated,
Gastonia; J. P. Stevens & Co., Greensboro; Collins
& Aikman Corp., Ca-Vel (Roxboro) ; Robbins Mills,
Inc., Aberdeen.
PAGE 72 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 195:
Textiles Employ Over One-Third of N. C. Covered Workers
HUGH M. Raper. Director, Bureau of Research and Statistics, ESC
The economic well-being of the textile industry
in North Carolina is of vital concern to those ad-ministering
the Employment Security Program in
the State. This is true because the covered employ-ment
for the textile group constitutes more than
one-third of all employment covered under the pro-gram,
and it accounts for more than 55 percent of
all manufacturing employment covered by the pro-gram.
Textile employment in the State is a weighty
indicator used for measuring the trends in the econ-omy
of North Carolina.
These data relate to the major industrial group
specifically defined as the Textile Mill Products and
includes establishments engaged in performing any
of the following operations without regard to type
of fiber used: (1) Manufacture of yarn, thread,
cordage, twine; (2) manufacture of woven fabric,
carpet and rugs, laces, knit garments (including
hosiery) , knit fabrics and other products from yarn
(3) dyeing and finishing fibers, yarns and fabrics;
and, (4) coating, waterproofing and otherwise treat-ing
fabric. It excludes jobbers and converters who
do no manufacturing and also excludes plants engag-ed
in rubberizing fabrics.
The employment and wages for the various com-ponent
segments of the textile group are shown be-low.
It should be noted that some establishments,
such as rug makers, perform all operations such as
scouring, combing, yarn making, etc. and in such
instances the one assigned code for such firm usually
is that process employing the greatest number of
people rather than the end product.
No. of Av. Monthly Total Wages
Industry Type Reporting Employment in 1951
Code Production Units in 1951
221 Scouring and Combing 5 85 $ 178,425
222 Yarn and Thread Mills 791 60,525 148,945,050
223 Broad-woven Fabric Mills 663 105,175 283,218,700
224 Narrow Fabrics 76 1.305 3.375,300
225 Knitting Mills (Incl. Hosiery) 1.814 57,060 137.059,100
226 Dyeing and Finishing 102 5,905 16.706,600
227 Carpets, Rugs, Lieoleum, etc. 36 315 527,350
229 Misc. Textile Goods 117 2,205 5,510,625
In 1951 there was some textile employment in 71
of the 100 counties. In nine counties the textile in
dustry had less than 100 covered workers.
The county distribution according to average num
ber of workers in employment in the year 1951 fol
lows
No. of Cowitie
4
No. of Workers
More than 10,000
5,000 to 9,999 12
2,500 to 4,999 9
1,000 to 2,499 19
500 to 999 ... 7
100 to 499 12
1 to 99 9
Wage and employment data for the 22 countie
having 2,500 or more workers are shown below
:
State Total
And County
Gaston
Cabarrus
Guilford
Alamance
Catawba
Forsyth
Randolph
Cleveland
Rowan
Rockingham
Rutherford
Surry
Davidson
Iredell
Stanly
Richmond..
Burke
Halifax
Buncombe
Durham
McDowell
Lincoln
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
No. of Average Total
Reporting Monthly Payrolls
Firms Employment in 1951
83 27,677 $69,641,300
22 22,804 57,440.598
59 19,939 57.801,576
77 13,641 36,784,705
97 9,540 21,467,963
20 7,779 19,580,824
46 7,608 20,776,299
30 6,843 16,602,298
16 6,514 15,653,947
11 6.321 16,768.451
14 6,246 16,498,437
50 5,723 14,984,032
32 5,551 12,935,343
17 5,514 14,756,426
11 5,299 12,359,4861
10 4,297 11,704,8581
31 4,270 10,416,761
4 3,864 9,499,07C|
20 3,771 9,993,184
11 3,574 10,828,57*
19 3,033 7,877,302
17 3.011 6,785,568
3,6(
County Distributio
All of the 28 counties reporting no covered texti
employment in 1951 are found in either the coast;
or the mountain area. All Piedmont counties ha^
some textile production.
In terms of employment North Carolina leads tl
t--"V'
)UMMER-FALL, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 73
Nation in the manufacture of textile mill products.
)ata for the first quarter of 1951 for the Nation and
elected states having 50,000 or more engaged in
extile employment follows
:
% of Nation's
Employment* Employment Gross Wages
STATE in March 1951 in Textiles First Quarter
nitedStates 1,317,960 $978,850,000
orth Carolina 243,610 18.5 159,246,000
ennsylvania 152,268 11.6 114,007,000
auth Carolina 140,385 10.7 98,148,000
eorgia 115,042 8.7 75,347,000
[assachusetts.. 110,983 8.4 93.382,000
ewYork 92,580 7.0 77,917,000
hode Island , 57,478 4.4 47,099,000
ewJersey 57,317 4.3 57,062,000
labama 56,032 4.3 38,192,000
*Data from Department of Labor release "Employment and Wages," November 1951
Since textile employment makes up more than a
third of the covered employment, when conditions
are not good in textiles unemployment costs reflect
this situation. The table which follows shows some-thing
of the cost influences produced in recent years.
Rate Computation
for Calendar Year
1950
1951
1952
Benefit Charges as percent of Taxable Payrolls
All Industries Textile Industry
1.54
1.48
0.73
1.71
2.08
0.97
The influence of the 1949 recession which hit tex-tiles
hard is reflected in the cost pattern of recent
years and accounts for the concern of the Employ-ment
Security Program in the part textiles play in
the State's economy.
N. C. Increases Lead as Nation's Premiere Textile State
By Henry Lesesne, Roving Editor, Textile Information Service
As textiles go, so goes North Carolina. There is
10 other state in the nation to which textiles are so
mportant to the economy than North Carolina. Two
>ut of every three industrial employees in the state
s a textile operative. The Tar Heel state is the larg-st
textile manufacturing state in America, and tex-iles
constitute by far its biggest industry. This de-pite
the fact that North Carolina, the leading manu-acturing
state in the Southeast, has large tobacco
,nd furniture manufacturing industries. North
Carolina's principal city, Charlotte, is regarded as
he "capital" of the textile industry.
The American Cotton Manufacturers Institute,
nc, which represents over 85 percent of the spindle-ige
of the American industry, both Southern and
^ew England, has its main offices in Charlotte. In
act, there is such a great concentration of the in-lustry
in and around Charlotte and Gastonia that
mly two other areas in the world can even compare
vith it on a textile poundage basis—Lancashire,
England and Osaka, Japan. Within a 50-mile radius
if Charlotte there are more spindles—the industry's
neasure of productive capacity—than there are in
1
n old steam engine used in cotton mill at Spray around J 905.
all the New England states put together. North
Carolina leads the country in number of spindles in
place with 6.1 million, and its sister state, South
Carolina, is second with 5.9 million.
N. C. AND TEXTILES GROW UP
It has been remarked that North Carolina, which
is generally regarded as the South's most progres-sive
state, and textiles have sort of grown up to-gether.
Textiles were North Carolina's first manu-facturing
industry. Textiles played the pioneer role
in transforming the state's purely agricultural econ-omy
into one of balanced agriculture and industry.
It is interesting to note that in 1900 the value of the
state's farm crops just about balanced the value of
its manufactured products. The value of its manu-factured
products today is over seven times greater
than the value of its agricultural commodities.
Perhaps there is no industry in America which
better exemplifies the American philosophy of free
enterprise than textiles. Of the big industries it is
the most competitive. It is, of course, Big Business
when measured by its half million employees, its six
billion dollar annual output, its annual payroll of
well over a billion dollars. But actually the industry
is a collection of small businesses. Its great magni-tude
does not imply giant corporations, but a number
of relatively small units, a thousand or more, no one
of which makes up more than four percent of the
total. The average unit accounts for only a minor
fraction of one percent of the industry's business.
FIRST COTTON MILLS BUILT
What was the beginning of the industry in North
Carolina? It depends on what we mean by "begin-ning".
As early as 1775 the Safety Committee of
Chowan county had raised a fund of 80 pounds sterl-ing
to encourage a British textile mechanic to come
here and start a cotton manufacturing business, but
the Revolutionary War interfered with this project.
Then, in 1789, the North Carolina Legislature au-thorized
Christopher Taylor to raise by lottery $5,000
a year for seven years to establish a factory that
would spin, weave and dye cotton. But the mill was
never built—perhaps because the North Carolinians
PAGE 74 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1 952
Reproduction of original engraving (1760) of old velvet loom,,
predecessor of modern Jacquard loom, developed by
Jaseph Jacquard in France.
of that day did not fully approve of the method of
raising capital.
Nevertheless, the thrifty people of the state were
turning out textiles through home industries and in
1810 North Carolina families produced nearly $3
million worth of handicraft textiles, even surpassing
Massachusetts by many hundreds of thousands of
dollars. One of the first—maybe the first—success-ful
cotton mills in the South was built in North
Carolina in 1813 by Michael Schenck and Absalom
Warlick—the Lincoln Cotton Factory, near Lincoln-ton.
But it was to be a long time—indeed, until well
after the Civil War—that North Carolina would as-sume
a place of real importance in cotton manufac-turing.
There were few cotton mills in North Carolina
even in the so-called Golden Age of the South—the
era about which the romanticists still rhapsodize
and probably always will. That was the day when
the new monarch, King Cotton, was coming into all
his glory with the invention of the cotton gin. There
might have been some hope even then that the seeds
of a manufacturing empire would take root in the
South, but the fact that cotton growing was an easy
road to wealth inhibited the idea of large scale manu-facturing.
The "white gold" has been grown exten-sively
before ; but now the cost of cotton growing was
so reduced that the market for it expanded with
amazing rapidity. The land and climate of tho South
were suited to growing cotton and the world was
clamoring for it. The slave population increased by
leaps and bounds and the great plantations of the
South grew greater. What was the need for indus-trialization?
BATTLE MILL CONTINUES
The idea was abhorrent to the easy-going land of
cotton. Skilled immigrants from Europe were flock-ing
to the New World and to freedom and oppor-tunity.
But they shunned the South. They knew
better than to try to compete with the slave labor of
the South and there was no place in the Southern
economy for the artisan or the man with a mechan-ical
skill. Yet in every age there are pioneers and
trail-blazers—men ahead of their time—and even
then there were a few men with great vision, stou
heart, imagination and courage.
It was in such a lush age and in an era and plac<
not altogether sympathetic with manufacturing enj
terprise that Michael Schenck, a native of Lancaste]{
county, Pennsylvania, who had come to North Carol
lina about 15 years earlier, established his factor!
at Lincolnton. At the same time Joel Battle, a larg<|
plantation owner in Eastern North Carolina neaj
Rocky Mount, was dreaming of a cotton factory. Hi
and his brother-in-law, Peter Evans, and Henry A
Donaldson, a man who had had some cotton mill ex
perience and whom they persuaded to come to Nort'j
Carolina and enter a partnership, founded a cotto:j
mill at the shoals of the Tar River near Rocky Mounlj
That mill continues in operation today under th
management of the same family. It is the oldes
mill in the South still in operation, and through a
those years the Rocky Mount Mills has stood out aj
one of the most modern and efficient units of th
cotton spinning industry.
HOLT DEVELOPS DYEING
One of the most successful of the early mills in th
state was built soon after 1830 by E. M. Holt o
Alamance Creek in Alamance County. Holt bega
to find it difficult to dispose of his yarn and he bega
the manufacture of a coarse cloth known as "Ah
mance plaids" and the product became known fa
and wide. In fact, it was so popular that even toda
in the central part of the state people occasionall
use the term "Alamance" as a synonym for coars
ginghams.
It was due to chance that Mr. Holt solved h
Intricate patterns are woven on this modern Jacquard loc
many of which operate in North Carolina plants.
Summer-fall, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 75
initial problem of how to dye cotton. He met a trav-eling
Frenchman, whose name is unknown, who for
f>100 agreed to show him how to dye materials. Their
irst operation was done in an 80-gallon copper boiler
:hat had been used to cook turnips for livestock. The
*esults were so successful that Mr. Holt installed
)etter equipment, including four box looms, thereby
jecoming the first manufacturer in the South of box
oom fabrics.
CONES COME TO CAROLINA
In 1830 the textile industry came to Greensboro
vhen Henry Humphreys built the Mt. Hecla mills,
;he first in the South to employ steam power. For
VTt. Hecla the machinery was shipped from Phila-lelphia
to Wilmington, then up the Cape Fear River
;o Fayetteville, and was hauled overland by wagon
;o Greensboro. Just 15 years later there was a fuel
shortage and Humphreys' son-in-law who had bought
;he mill moved the entire plant to a water-power site
m the Catawba River in Gaston county. It was
nany years before another mill came to Greensboro,
which today is one of North Carolina's—and one of
;he world's—largest textile manufacturing centers.
But it was a significant and happy day for North
Carolina when, in 1894, the two Cone brothers, Moses
ind Caesar, put all they had and all they could bor-row
into the building of a new mill in Greensboro,
rhey named it Proximity because of its nearness to
;he cotton fields. It was a good-sized plant for
^orth Carolina then, for it could boast 250 looms.
!^ine years later the Cones took another terrific gam-
Die ; they mortgaged Proximity and built White Oak,
md for years the earnings were ploughed back into
improvements, with the stockholders waiting many
fears to collect a dividend. It was in these years,
just before the turn of the century and as the South
was trying to shake off the aftermath of the war,
;hat the industry experienced its first substantial
growth in North Carolina.
Before the Civil War there were few mills. In
1840, for instance, there were about 25 mills operat-ing
in the state and the total number of spindles was
mly 17,000. Many of the pre-Civil War mills were
ourned or destroyed by the Union Armies. Those
which did survive came out of the war in poor con-dition,
mechanically and financially. It was not until
the 1880's that North Carolina and the South began
to rebuild. Then cotton mills began springing up in
towns with water sites—towns where not even the
leading citizens were even moderately wealthy by the
standards of the day. Often the doctor, the planter,
the merchant and some of the operatives bought a
few shares of stock in the community enterprise,
paying for them on the weekly installment plan. The
enter of recreational life in textile town of Kannapalos is this
YMCA with membership of 10,000. Its Williamsburg Colon-ial
architecture extends into the shopping district.
Modern cafeterias are supplanting the lunch pail in North
Carolina textile mills.
object was to provide employment for the people, to
throw off the economic inertia of the war's after-math.
Some of the early mills failed ; others suc-ceeded.
DYNEL COMING TO DRAPER
An obscure little incident—or accident—happened
along about this time which was to have great eco-nomic
bearing upon the state some 60 years later
—
in 1952, in fact. Back just before the turn of the
century a worker in Spray—one of the State's early
textile manufacturing centers—threw a piece of coke
into the canal in the little town. Peculiar bubbles
later were noticed in the water. This chance incident
led a small group of experimenters at Spray to dis-covering
a process for making calcium carbide, the
first commercial source of acetylene, which was used
on our first commercial automobiles and for numer-ous
other lighting purposes.
This incident was actually the beginning of what
is known today as the Union Carbide and Carbon
Corporation, one of the ten largest manufacturing
corporations in the country. But the chemical in-dustry
passed up North Carolina until recently. In
the last few years a subsidiary of Union Carbide and
Carbon has developed one of the new acrylic syn-thetic
fibers known as Dynel and which has many
of the characteristics of wool. This "wonder" fiber
is now made in limited quantities at a plant in South
Charleston, W. Va. Recently Union Carbide began
looking about the country for a site to build a plant
to make Dynel.
After considering hundreds of sites, it chose one
a site near Spray, a stone's throw from the canal
where calcium carbide was accidentally discovered.
Here the chemical company is building a $33 million
plant to manufacture Dynel. Although large in-stallations
for synthetic fiber manufacturing have
or are going up in other Southern states, notably
South Carolina and Alabama, this will make North
Carolina a big center of the new chemical fiber in-dustry,
for at Kinston, in the eastern part of the
state, the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is
building a giant plant costing well in excess of $30
million to make Dacron, another synthetic fiber now
made only in pilot plant quantities.
DIVERSITY IN DEVELOPMENT
In recent years there have been two significant
trends in the development of the textile industry in
PAGE 76 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 195
North Carolina. The first mills had to locate along
swift streams for their water-power and the Pied-mont
was where the cotton mills clustered. But as
new mills have sprung up in the postwar period many
of them are being situated throughout the state, in
the mountainous west and in the hitherto purely agri-cultural
or predominantly agricultural east.
The other trend is toward a great diversification
of the textile industry. There was a time when mills
in North Carolina made goods and sent them else-where
to be finished. In modern times the state has
come to see many finishing plants within its borders.
And whereas the textile industry in North Carolina
once consisted almost altogether of cotton, recent
years have seen a great increase in the mills turning
out the rayons, the newer synthetics, and wool.
The postwar years have seen scores of multi-mil-lion
dollar, one-story, air-conditioned textile plants
built. This might lead to the conclusion that the
productive capacity or spindleage of the industry is
growing by leaps and bounds. But such is not the
case. In fact, spindleage in the cotton textile indus-try
has been declining for the last two decades. Cot-ton
mills wear out. Only a few complete or inte-grated
cotton mills have been built in the South in
recent years, and none in North Carolina.
How then to explain the "growth" of the textile
industry in North Carolina and the South? Twenty-eight
years ago the South had 17 million active spin-dles
and New England had the same number. Today
the South still has 17 million spindles. The all-time
peak of active Southern spindles was reached in 1930
when 18,586,000 spindles were active at some time
during the year. Thereafter the number steadily
declined to the present level, and in a few years fell
below it. From 1930 to 1950 the construction of new
spinning and weaving cotton mills was just aboul
non-existent.
GROWTH IN FINISHING—HOSIERY
The construction from 1946 to 1949 was confinec
almost altogether to finishing plants and hosierj
mills. The beginning of 1950 saw a resumption o?
the building of spinning and weaving mills but this
was primarily or almost altogether for expandini
operations in synthetics. But during the postwai
period the mills have seen a revolutionary trend to
ward the modernization of plant and equipment
Since World War II the industry has installed nev
equipment as rapidly as it could be delivered. Bu
even so, the industry could not be re-equipped in \
few years. The process is still going on. A part o
this picture is new machinery lay-outs and air-con
ditioning. Research of the engineer and the scientis
have brought greater efficiency in production an<
also improved quality and a greater variety o
products.
Today there are over 220,000 persons employed ii
textile and knitting mills in North Carolina. It i
figured that to set up a textile job today requires ai
initial capital investment of $16,150 per employe
for the necessary buildings, machinery, raw materia
and working capital. This figure was reached in ai
analysis made by the Ralph E. Loper Company whicj
specializes in textile cost service. This is 267 perceni
the cost of setting up one textile job in 1936. Multi
ply the figure of $16,150 by the number of textilt
employees in North Carolina and you realize wha[
the industry means to the state.
Textile Industry Aids State's Sociological Development
By Mrs. Mildred Barnwell Andrews
The textile industry of North Carolina, well rec-ognized
as the most important economic factor in
the growth and development of the state, has con-tributed
vastly to its social development as well. The
tourist passing through on Highway 29, No. 1, or
any of the collateral systems, is over awed by the
great textile mills, representing almost half of the
entire industry in the United States, but he is sel-dom
fully aware of the human factors, the tangible
benefits which have accompanied the growth of the
industry, and which, within the past 15 years, have
brought an entirely new way of life to the more than
200,000 textile mill employees and their families.
Best outward evidence of this phase of development
are the improved mill village communities and vari-
WRITING TEXTILE HISTORY
Mrs. Mildred Barnwell Andrews, who gained much of her textile experi-ence
in North Carolina circles, has written about and lectured on the
progress of the textile industry for many years. From 1935 to 1945, she
was Executive Secretary of the Southern Combed Yarn Spinners Associa-tion,
with headquarters in Gastonia. In the next six succeeding years, she
was affiliated with a New York public relations program which handled the
textile industry's public relations program.
Mrs. Andrews served her industry, and her country, with distinction
during World War II as special consultant on textiles in the Office of the
Quartermaster-General, and on War Production Board's Industrial Salvage
Committee.
During her more than twenty years of work with the industry, Mrs.
Andrews has had as her avocation collection of data for a voluminous
history on textiles, and from her familiarity with North Carolina and its
chief industry has written this article on the industry's contribution to the
state's sociological development. Her present address is Old Chain Bridge
Road, R. F. D. 4, Vienna, Va.
ous programs sponsored by textile companies for th
benefit of the employees and their families.
In the past decade, a more accelerated effort fo
better community living has become a planned bus
ness with almost every textile mill, and according t|
each mill's geographic location, and other factor:;
includes some of all of these phases: better home,'
recreation facilities, cultural advancement, healt
programs, educational advantages. A few years agj
the word "paternalism" was often heard in connei;
tion with the early efforts of textile management f
offer better living opportunities to the workers. T<j
day, the public begins to realize paternalism is tl!
wrong word. Mills invest money in building betttj
communities. People who live in better commun|
ties make better citizens. Better citizens make be]'
ter business. Plans for better community living ail
now a vital, integral part of the general economy <:
the textile industry, and many leading, as well i
typical, examples of this trend are found in Norl
Carolina.
PLEASANT HOME CONDITIONS
One of the major factors in better citizenship ar
greater work potential is having a good and pleasai
ihome, in surroundings worthy of choice and sui
liable to one's best economic ability. In the texti
Summer-fall, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 77
T^jtfiHt 1
\
*
.,1 ;irn
-ifeS-iSasS. ." -v »",
general view of camp site at Camp Firestone, Lake James,
operated for its employees by Firestone Textiles, Gastonia.
industry today, such a home may be found in the
nill community or in outlying farm areas populated
3y mill employees. Today the mill village, if bor-dering
on a town, is a welcome adjunct to the cor-porate
community. Its well kept streets and homes
jive an additional appearance of prosperity to a
;own. If the mill and its village are somewhat iso-ated,
one often finds the community a place of real
marm and usually of substantial appearance.
Mill villages were never planned as a source of
revenue to a mill. They were simply an outgrowth
)f the mill's location which, in the early days, had
:o be near water power. In order to obtain power,
mills were often built in remote places. Transporta-
;ion was a grave problem, and companies had to
louse workers or have none. Today, with excellent
roads, high wages, and prevalent use and ownership
)f automobiles, textile mill villages are not the neces-sity
they once were and at least 50 percent of textile
workers live outside the villages, 25 percent in their
)wn homes either in village houses bought by them
from the company, or away from the mill in other
;owns or on farms. Now, it is the workers choice,
lot the mill's necessity, which populate the mill vil-ages.
"I've been driving South for years and never real-zed
that many attractive towns through which I
Irove were cotton mill towns," said a tourist a couple
)f years ago. He spoke of the flower gardens, clip-ped
hedges, lawns and shady trees that go toward
naking the pretty streets. "And I notice the houses
ook better than in many other sections of the coun-ty,"
he added.
KANNAPOLIS—CRAMERTON
One would have to travel far to find a prettier,
Dusier community to live in than the mill village of
Kannapolis, built around the great Cannon towel
nills. There, the business section of the town is
gradually being remodeled along lines of Williams-burg
colonial architecture, and could easily be mis-
Zection of Main Street in Kannapolis oivned by Cannon Mills
Co., showing development of Williamsburg
Colonial architecture.
View of reading room and library at plant of American
Enka Corp. at Enka.
taken for a city suburb of the better type.
At Tuxedo, high in the mountains, the combina-tion
of village and apple orchard reminds one of a
quaint old English settlement. Many of the em-ployees
of the Green River Mills, Inc. there live on
their own property held for generations by patent
from George III, pre-Revolutionary King of England.
Cramerton, when it was first founded by Stuart W.
Cramer, Sr., became known as the model mill village.
Today the mill is part of Burlington Mills Corpora-tion,
and homes of Cramerton are now owned by the
mill workers. It is found that such real pride in
ownership exists that there is good, natural and
neighborly rivalry in keeping up the appearance of
lawns and houses. It is still a model village as Stuart
Cramer planned it.
Many textile workers prefer to own houses in
town or country, to have gardens, or to own small
farms within commuting distance of the mill, and
there they may undertake normal farm activities
such as having cows, or raising chickens, or turkeys,
or engaging in truck farming, in addition to their
mill job.
WORKERS GOOD CITIZENS
Such things as owning homes, paying taxes, vot-ing
on bond issues and in city, state and national
elections, and in general improving the community
bespeak the fact that people who work for textile
mills today are not mill workers in the old sense of
the word. They are substantial citizens leading act-ive
and responsible lives. Rental tenants in mill
owned houses have gained a comparable sense of re-sponsibility.
In many textile towns which are in-corporated,
it is not unusual to find mill workers of
today serving on city councils, working on various
community drives, and participating in all normal
PAGE 78 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-Fall, 1952
activities of a townsman. This
would have been unheard of
three, even two, decades ago.
The trend today of greatest so-cial
significance in textile manu-facturing
towns and cities is the
disappearance of the old line of
demarcation between mill work-ers
and other members of the
community. It is a gradual de-velopment
which is accepted and
welcomed by all.
In many instances today, com-munity
recreation projects are
joint investments on the part of
mill interests and the town. Mill
workers and everyone else living
in the community share in the
benefits and enjoyment of the
health and recreation program.
ORGANIZED RECREATION
North Carolina is the only textile manufacturing
state which has a state recreation commission. Set
up by legislative action in 1946 it has worked suc-cessfully
in its years of operation and may set the
pattern for other textile states. The commission is a
service department and acts as guide and counsellor
to communities and mills sponsoring recreation proj-ects.
One of the joint recreation projects engineered
by the N. C. Recreation Commission is found in
Mooresville, where the Mooresville Cotton Mills built
a swimming pool, a golf course, and a small club-house.
The town of Mooresville, as a war memorial,
built a baseball field, a large auditorium, and play-ground.
The result is a beautiful recreation center
for the entire community which cost the mill and
the town about $300,000 each. Everyone uses it and
enjoys it, and the maintenance of the recreation
center is financed by money from the town's parking
meters.
In Hickory, the community recreation project was
worked out somewhat differently. The Shuford Mills
matched dollar for dollar the amount raised by the
town until approximately $800,000 was available.
Architects and engineers of the N. C. Recreation
Commission planned the recreation center, and it was
built as one unit from the combined resources.
The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, Greensboro, left by the\\
late Mrs. Moses Cone in memory of her husband, co-founder of\
Cone Mills, and other members of the Cone textile family. It
will open for patients in January, 1953.
In these towns, regardless of whether the bread-winner
is a cotton mill worker, a drug store clerk, a
doctor, lawyer or a railroad man, every family en-joys
the beautiful parks and the recreational facil-ities.
In other localities, it may not be feasible to
have joint programs. What works advantageously
in one community may not be satisfactory in another.
Sometimes it is much more workable to confine the
recreation project to the mill community because of
numbers of people involved, location of mill and scope
of program. But recreation programs sponsored byI
textile mills throughout the entire N. C. industry fori
their workers and families take many forms and may
include athletic activities, all kinds of club work asI
well as cultural education.
Y.M.C.A.—COMMUNITY BUILDINGS
One of the largest Y. M. C. A. memberships in the!
United States (per town population) is that at Kan-napolis,
N. C. where Cannon Mills Company built ai
most beautiful community Y. M. C. A. building with|
a wide variety of facilities, including swimming pool)
and gymnasium, which is enjoyed by all residents of'
the town as well as groups from all over the state
during tournament time. Two of the newest Y's inl
the state's textile areas are in Albemarle and North
|
Charlotte. The former was built by the Wiscassett;
Mills as a memorial to its employees ; and the latter;
was built by the North Charlotte Foundation as ai
?;)!v'Vv*!*^^
Gilvin Roth YMCA given to its employees and townspeople by
Chatham Mfg. Co. at Elkin.
One of the Little League baseball teams composed largely o,
sons of employees sponsored this year by
Textiles-Incorporated, Gastonia.
SUMMER-FALL, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 79
»
Part of spacious swimming pool at Cannon Memorial
YMCA at Kannapolis.
memorial to the late Horace Johnston. Both build-ngs
are complete in every recreational detail, and
>oth are fully enjoyed by the entire citizenry of the
ommunity.
Three years ago, textile mills of Shelby, N. C.
istablished a Foundation and $200,000 to build a
ommunity center, and, at the same time, the city
mdertook a park project with an equal amount of
noney involved, so the two recreational efforts were
nade one. A fine swimming pool, a nine-hole golf
:ourse, and the community center, which is complete
vith bowling alleys, gymnasium, and auditorium,
:ombine to make one of the best recreational set-ups
n the state for the people of Shelby and Cleveland
:ounty. The nearby town of Spindalc received a gift
>f $120,000 from five local textile mills to be used to
•emodel, enlarge and improve the city's Recreation
Center.
Many times, mills shoulder the entire recreation
)rogram budget for their little community. It would
>e a rare thing today to find a textile mill without a
)lanned recreation program. They vary according
o the locale of the mill, size of the employment group,
tnd scope of the recreation budget. Such budgets
lave been increasing annually, however, and many
nills' trained recreation directors are included in
;he companies high executive salary brackets. The
:ombination of sports and cultural recreation proj-icts
has brought to this generation of N. C. textile
vorkers a type of background formerly thought ac-cessible
only to the very wealthy.
COLLEGE AND SCHOOLS
Many examples could be given of the splendid co-deration
between state supported schools and the
;extile industry's active and constructive endowment
Types of well-built homes built by English Construction Co. and
sold primarily to employees of Cone Mills. Others are
owned by the mill organization.
North Charlotte YMCA built by North Charlotte Foundation,
established to honor the memory of R. Horace Johnston,
late president of Johnston Mills Co., Charlotte.
in all lines of formal education. Today with the
cultural opportunities and college advantages offered
to employees of textile mills, or members of their
families, the entire educational structure of textile
workers has been raised to levels comparable to or
better than other walks of life. This is outstandingly
true in N. C, where the N. C. State College School of
Textiles is now the largest textile college in the world.
In the past ten years, it has tripled its enrollment
due to advantages made possible by the N. C. Textile
Foundation of more than $1,000,000 contributed by
mills of the state. This foundation is solely to sup-plement
salaries of professors or to provide profes-sorships.
Not all textile education is on the college campus,
however. Among the schools on the vocational level,
and servicing a wide area, are N. C. Vocational
School located at Belmont, which is state supported,
and the Gaston County Technical Institute, commun-ity
planned for its textile needs, and built with pub-lic
subscription funds. It will be staffed with
teachers supplied by N. C. State College, and its
tuition fees will pay for the school's operation. All
this ties in with the trend within the textile industry,
now evidenced over several years, of plowing back a
large portion of its earnings toward educational
opportunities for its younger generation.
MODERN HEALTH PROGRAMS
If an industry-wide health survey is ever made of
the workers in the textile industry the good health
of textile mill employees and their families will make
a creditable showing which twenty or thirty years
ago would have been unbelievable. Today it will be
accepted as a matter of course. Much of this prog-ress
in health is due to the revised living and work-ing
standards of the last two decades. Other con-tributing
factors are the health insurance and hos-pitalization
plans common in the industry today.
Almost every mill has group health insurance cover-ing
sickness and hospitalization at a cost from 35
cents to one dollar a week. Many have plans which
may include nutrition programs and clinics ranging
literally from head to foot, with treatment for all
the ills known to man. Many textile mills have their
own specialty clinics, and many go in on community
cooperative health plans. In many large and small
textile areas, large postwar hospital projects are
under construction or recently completed.
COMMUNITY HOSPITALS
Many years ago, textile mills and one or two other
industries around Roanoke Rapids, N. C. cooperated
PAGE 80 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1952
to build their own hospital and set up a hospitaliza-tion
plan for the community that attracted such
widespread interest that observers have come from
all parts of the world to study its operation. In
Cabarrus County an expansion program was re-cently
completed for the Cabarrus County Hospital,
originally built in 1937 with funds from a county
bond issue and from the Duke Endowment. The
expansion was carried out under the Hill-Burton
Act and was financed by $600,000 of federal aid,
$250,000 state aid, and the balance of $1,250,000
from local industry, largely the Cannon Mills inter-ests.
It is one of the few N. C. hospitals whose
nurses are awarded a B. S. Degree upon graduation.
But the biggest hospital venture in N. C. in many
years, and certainly the largest financed by textile
interests for the benefit of the entire community, is
in Greensboro. It carries a heart warming story
which enhances its benefit to that thriving textile
city. When the two Cone brothers, Moses and Cae-sar,
built the Proximity Manufacturing Company at
Greensboro, N. C, they put into it all they had and
all they could borrow from other members of the
family. Now Greensboro has one of the most im-pressive
gifts ever presented to any community : the
300 bed Cone Memorial Hospital which, with the land
on which it stands, represents the entire estate of
Moses Cone and an unmarried sister, approximately
16 million dollars!
FREEDOM—HIGH MORALE
Thus we see in North Carolina, with the invest-ment
of much of the textile industry's profits in com-munity
programs directed toward the better living
of the industry's employees, a true example of the
philosophy of the American system of business, free
enterprise which enables those who work for the
success of an industry to gain from it the things that
money cannot buy: the high morale which comes
with freedom from fear, and the gain in health and
wisdom. It represents not a new type of social de-velopment,
but the kind that prosperity enables the
industry to sponsor. North Carolina is fortunate to
have such an industry as its economic backbone.
N. C. State School of Textiles Largest in the Nation
By Dr. Malcolm E. Campbell, Dean, School of Textiles, N. C. State College, Raleigh
The great diversity of function in the textile in-dustry,
with the rapid growth of its many activities,
has necessitated the appearance of the man who is
thoroughly trained in the skills and techniques of
today. The School of Textiles at North Carolina
State College, since its inception, has recognized the
need for close contact between the industry and the
institution which prepares men for it. Its develop-ment
through the years to its present position as the
largest and one of the best equipped textile schools
in the country is proof of the soundness of this
attitude.
The School of Textiles was established in 1899
with an enrollment of eight students, and equipment
consisting of one roving reel, one yarn reel, a pair of
scales, and a set of cotton samples donated by a local
cotton mill. Today there is an enrollment of 500
students, and a complete line of equipment and raa-
Entrance to large modern four-story building housing them
School of Textiles, N. C. State College, Raleigh,
called ''The Mill" by students.
chinery for the four major departments in the school! —yarn, knitting, weaving and designing, and tex-ll
tile chemistry and dyeing.
TEXTILE BUILDING—"THE MILL"
The Textile Building itself is a large, modern, four-I
story structure, which is known to its students asl
"the mill". This is a partially accurate label. Under!]
one roof are combined, on a small scale, nearly all the:
operations that take place in yarn manufacturing!
plants, knitting mills, cotton and rayon weaving!
mills, and dyeing and finishing plants. The student!
is exposed to the latest methods and equipment of!
these many aspects of the new textile industry in a]
manner, which if not exactly duplicated in-any indi-
J
vidual mill, is patterned after industrial practices.;
The resemblance stops, however, with the realiza-j
Students studying in yarn manufacturing laboratory of the
School of Textiles, N. C. State College.
y
UMMER-FALL, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 81
Studying tricot knitting in the School of Textiles,
N. C. State College.
on that the mechanical set-up comprises only one
art of the training of students. The basic academic
iucation, which supplements the practical experi-tices
of the students, presents a picture that can be
)und only in a college.
From a beginning as a small department in the
allege which taught the manufacturing of cotton,
le School of Textiles has become one of the larger
:hools on the campus, and offers instruction not
nly in the processing of cotton, but also in textile
aemistry, in the study of modern laboratory tech-iques,
and in individual courses covering almost
yery phase of textiles. The School offers two main
nrricula—Textiles and Textile Chemistry. The lat-ir
gives the student a basic knowledge of textiles
nd concentrates on the chemical composition of
bers, with emphasis placed on the man-made fibers,
'he curriculum in Textiles is organized so that all
tudents take the same work for three years, which
lcludes courses in yarn manufacture, weaving and
esigning, knitting, and textile chemistry and
yeing.
In the senior year a student may elect to specialize
i any of the following options : General Textiles,
ynthetics, Weaving and Designing, Yarn Manufac-aring,
Textile Management, or Knitting. This sys-
3m enables the School to turn out men who have a
oundation of general knowledge plus more specific
raining in a special field—the type of man for whom
here is a great need today, as is proven by the high
ercentage of graduates who are placed every year.
COMPLETE RESEARCH PROGRAM
As evidence of a close liaison between school and
idustry, the School of Textiles has established a
horough and completely equipped research program,
rtiich not only makes latest developments in testing
lethods and machines available to the students, but
enders an actual service to textile organizations by
)erforming tests and giving information which
light otherwise be difficult for them to obtain.
The rapid growth of the School of Textiles to the
osition of prominence it now holds in the academic
eld is due in a large part to the far-sightedness and
enerosity of North Carolina manufacturers. In
December 1942, the North Carolina Textile Founda-tion
was incorporated "to aid and promote by finan-cial
assistance and otherwise, all types of textile edu-cation
and research at North Carolina State College."
Thus did the idea of a small group of textile execu-tives,
including W. J. Carter, David Clark, Herman
Cone, and J. Spencer Love, become a reality.
The Textile Foundation has more than lived up
to its original purpose by raising over $1,200,000
with contributions from private industry. These
funds have made it possible to attract men of high
caliber in experience and achievement to the staff of
the School, by supplementing their regular salaries.
The Foundation has also contributed substantially
toward the many improvements and additions that
have been made in the physical plant. This has taken
the form of contributions of machinery and equip-ment;
donations for the establishment of student
recreation facilities ; and more important, aid in de-veloping
the most complete and extensive textile
library in the United States.
GRADUATES FIND READY JOBS
The reputation of the School of Textiles has spread
far beyond the boundaries of the State of North
Carolina. In the student enrollment for the scholas-tic
year 1951-52, 22 states and 23 foreign countries
are represented, among which are Canada, several
South American countries, China, India, England,
Switzerland ; and a cross-section of the United States.
The time was when the problem of the South, aca-demically
speaking, lay in the fact that the individual
states were put to the expense of educating their
students, who upon graduation promptly went North,
where the opportunities and money were. That sit-uation
today is just about reversed. The majority
of out-of-state students in the School of Textiles are
residents of Northern states, and a great number of
these boys remain in the South working in southern
mills and organizations, after they have received
their degrees.
There are few Textile Schools anywhere which
can compete with North Carolina State College On
the basis of technical and academic preparation.
Realizing this, textile men translate their under-standing
into action by absorbing our graduates al-most
as fast as they are available.
Student in physical testing laboratory. School of Textiles,
N. C. State College.
PAGE 82 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-Fall, 1951
N. C. Vocational Textile School in Center of Industry
By J. Warren Smith, State Director of Vocational Education,
North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction
On the Wilkinson Boulevard between Charlotte
and Gastonia and in the center of the most highly
concentrated group of textile mills in the State, at
Belmont, is located the North Carolina Vocational
Textile School. This school is a State institution,
planned specifically to serve the textile industry. The
school is the only State operated vocational textile
school and the only vocational-technical school being
operated by the State. It is unique by being the only
one of its type in the entire country. This school is
a special feature of the State's program of Vocational
Education of the State Department of Public In-struction.
The students are taught how to perform all of the
manipulative skills and the related technical infor-mation
necessary to become well-rounded skilled
textile operators. The training is geared to develop
the skilled mechanic level of textile employee. Those
who are trained advance rapidly to the supervisory
level. Five different courses are offered. They are
:
yarn manufacturing, weaving and designing, knit-ting,
mill maintenance, and tailoring. Each of the
courses require 1150 hours of instruction, which
may be completed in one year's time.
The school is in operation eleven months during
the year. A student may take as many of the courses
as he desires. There is not any tuition charge to
residents of the State. There is a tuition of $35.00
per month for out-of-state students.
In the yarn manufacturing course, the students
study all of the processes from the opening room
through the spinning process. They acquire all of
the skills necessary to operate each of the machines
and the necessary technical information.
The weaving and design students learn all about
the yarn numbering systems of all kinds of yarn, the
many weave room calculations, and cloth analysis.
They are taught how to design plain and fancy pat-terns.
KNITTING AND TAILORING
In the knitting department, the students learn the
principles and mechanics of knitting. They are
taught the knitting calculations and fixing of all
types of knitting machines.
In mill maintenance, the students are taught how
jma*»**
W> i ftttif
^&fi' ^Hj W/Kr%&
View of weave room of N. C. Vocational Textile
School at Belmont.
N. C. Vocational Textile School at Belmont between
Charlotte and Gastonia.
to operate all of the machine shop equipment usual!
found in a fully-equipped mill maintenance shop, alt
the related mathematics, theory, and blueprint rea<
ing which is necessary to a well-rounded maintei
ance mechanic.
Students in tailoring learn to make all kinds <
men's clothing, especially men's suits. They a:
taught all of the processes needed in the tailorir
trade from basic stitches to pattern drafting.
OTHER SPECIAL COURSES
In addition to the five main courses described, tl
school operates during the year special short ter
institutes for such subjects as cotton classing, te
tile lubrication, painting and lighting, supervisio
and demonstrations of new processes or new typj
of equipment.
Then too, the school will organize evening extej'
sion classes for small groups of employed workei
who desire to improve their skill or knowledge h
portant to their present job or for possible advanc
ment to a higher level of employment.
FOR WHOM TRAINING IS AVAILABLE
Training is available for three groups: (1) Tl
high school student who wishes to prepare hims(!:"
for textile employment. High school students wl
receive appropriate credit toward graduation frcji
their own high school. Naturally, this group of st-dents
is small, since only those students who ap
near the school are able to make proper arrange-ments.
(2) Out-of-school youth who have or ha
not finished high school are eligible to training leg
ing to textile employment. While high school gr£
uation is desirable, it is not an entrance requireme;
The student must be at least sixteen years of ae
and have intelligence and ability sufficient to prct
from the training. (3) This group includes perse
already employed who wish to continue their tra
ing or enroll for new courses, either a major or s]
cial short course.
ENROLLMENT INCLUDES VETERANS
The school is now beginning its tenth year
operation. Each year since its beginning there |
f
iUMMER-FALL, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 83
bathes and ?nilling machine in N. C. Vocational Textile School.
)een a steady growth of its enrollment. During the
rear 1950-51 the school had its peak enrollment,
vhich was 676. During 1951-52 there were 475
students enrolled. Among this group there were 25
ligh school students, 328 veterans, and 122 non-
/eterans. Nearly all of the students were employed
workers who came to the school from seven counties
md represented 66 different textile companies. The
)fficials of the industry value highly the training
;heir employees receive, have respect for the school,
md encourage promising young employees to attend,
rhere is an excellent spirit of cooperation between
nill and school officials, which is vital to the success-ful
operation of the school. This school provided
excellent training for World War II veterans.
TRAINED SCHOOL FACULTY
Martin L. Rhodes is the school's superintendent.
3hris E. Folk is the principal. They have a faculty
)f eleven men who are well-equipped by experience
and training. Each instructor is an expert in his
particular phase of instruction. Every instructor
was recruited from the industry he represents and
selected because of his special fitness for the teaching
job.
The school is operated by a board of trustees, con-sisting
of seven men who are appointed by the gov-ernor.
0. M. Mull of Shelby is chairman of this
board. In addition to the trustees, there is an ad-visory
council elected by the trustees, which is com-posed
of twelve men representing the different
phases of textiles and education. J. Harold Line-berger
of Belmont is chairman of this council. These
men keep in close contact with the school officials
and give advice on school policies and procedures.
EXCELLENT EQUIPMENT
As evidenced by the photographs which accompany
this article, this school has excellent physical facili-ties.
The very attractive well-constructed building
is located on a beautiful tract of twenty acres. Each
of the shop laboratories is fully provided with ade-quate
and up-to-date equipment.
This school was established by an act of the Gen-eral
Assembly of 1941. The original bill made avail-able
an appropriation of $50,000. To this amount,
the managers of the textile industry of Gaston
County and others added another $50,000 and twenty
acres of land. The 1943 General Assembly appro-priated
$75,000 for the purchasing of equipment.
Each succeeding legislative assembly has provided
some additional money for equipment and improve-ment
of the plant. Some of the equipment was pro-vided
by the Federal government for war training
and a few pieces were secured from surplus property.
This school, by its excellent performance, has es-tablished
a place for itself as an important feature of
North Carolina's educational program. Its benefits
are most helpful to the industry it has served. The
founders who conceived the idea can feel proud of
their action.
Gaston Technical Institute to Help in Textile Training
By Dr. J. H. Lampe, Dean of Engineering, North Carolina State College
The Gaston Technical Institute, located in Gas-tonia,
opened its doors to student enrollment on
September 22 of this year, providing the first oppor-tunity
of its type in central North Carolina for tech-nical
training programs.
The Institute has been established and will be
Dperated by the School of Engineering and the Col-lege
Extension Division of North Carolina State
College in response to the needs of the Gastonia com-munity
and the surrounding area. It will offer
courses of a year's duration in a variety of technical
fields. With a flexible program, adaptable to the
^hanging requirements of its students and the spon-soring
industries, the Institute holds promise of be-poming
a vital force in the industrial progress of the
region.
The establishment of the Institute is in accord with
the purposes and general philosophy of the School
3f Engineering and the College Extension Division
3f N. C. State College : to provide wherever possible
;echnical training and technical services as they are
needed throughout the State of North Carolina. Its
creation is the fulfillment of a long-time ambition
and the fruition of several years of planning and
hard work on the part of E. W. Ruggles, Director of
College Extension.
Central building of new Gaston Technical Institute, operating
under School of Engineering of State College,
former F. C. Todd residence.
PAGE 84 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-Fall, 1952
This Institute will be the only one in operation in
North Carolina, and one of the very few in the entire
South, when its first registration rolls around this
fall. Its director will be James I. Mason, former
director of the Morehead City Technical Institute,
which ceased operation early this month. A local
advisory board is composed of sixteen business or
professional men in the community who were instru-mental
in the Institute's establishment.
CURRICULA AND FACILITIES
The curricula of the School will comprise one year
terminal technical courses, of which the character
is well-defined by the Technical Institute of the Engi-neers'
Council for Professional Development
:
"Technical Institute programs are intermediate between
the high school and vocational school on one hand and
the engineering college on the other . . . The purpose
is to prepare individuals for positions auxiliary to but
not in the field of professional engineering. Curricula
are essentially technological in nature, based upon
principles of science, require the use of mathematics
beyond high school and emphasize rational processes
rather than rules of practice. Curricula are briefer,
more intensive, and more specific in purpose than col-legiate
engineering curricula, though they lie in the
same general fields of industry and engineering. Their
aim is to prepare individuals for specific technical posi-tions
or lines of activity rather than broad sectors of
engineering practice."
For its first year the Institute offers curricula in
Building Construction Technology, Electrical Tech-nology,
Internal Combustion Engines, and Textile
Technology. These courses will be modified and new
courses added as necessary to meet the needs of the
region.
Administrative offices, classrooms, and the library
will be located in the former F. C. Todd residence
on West Airline Avenue in downtown Gastonia. The
residence has been completely reconditioned to suit
its new purposes. A student book store and snack
bar will also be located in this building.
On the same lot new buildings have been construct-ed
to house the various shops and laboratories—the
machine shop, sheet metal shop, welding shop, wood-working
shop, electrical laboratory, and internal
combustion engines shop and laboratory.
No dormitory or dining room facilities will be
provided, but the Chamber of Commerce of Gastonia
will assist in placing out-of-town students in desir-able
homes in the community.
STEPS IN STARTING SCHOOL
The establishment of this Institute in Gastonia
evidences growing recognition of the importance of
trained technicians in any scene of industrial activ-ity.
This modern age of complexity is based upon
technology ; the lack of technically trained personnel
is a limiting factor in the growth of any industry.
Far-sighted leaders in Gastonia, aware of this factor
and wanting to insure the continued prosperity of
their community, have substantially aided in the
establishment of this Institute.
The one man most responsible for the success oi
its establishment is C. C. Dawson, a retired business;
executive who aroused the interest of the rest of th(f
community in this project. He headed a fund-raising
drive among local business firms which raised monej
to provide for the physical plant of the Institute
(The administrative officers and faculty are pro
vided by the School of Engineering.)
The enthusiasm and the capabilities of Mr. Dawsoi
and over a dozen of his associates quickly dispatchec
each difficulty that arose in the School's establish
ment. Frequent meetings with this group were ver|
impressive to Director Ruggles of the Extensioi
Division and to myself. It is not only a pleasure
but truly an enlivening experience to be associate*
with such a spirit—a spirit which insured achieve
ment at the very outset of the undertaking.
FOUNDERS AND ADVISORS
Along with my mention of Mr. Dawson, I shoul<
like to cite A. G. Bell and Brice T. Dickson, respect
ively, president and manager of the Gastonia Cham
ber of Commerce, whose interest and activity oi
behalf of the Institute were most essential and mos
gratifying.
They and the other gentlemen who were so instru
mental in the founding of the Institute have a.
agreed to serve on its Advisory Board, giving us th
continued benefit of their advice. These other ger
tlemen are : Charles K. Bryant, Hubert Craig, How
ard Houser, Hunter Huss, Joe Lineberger, Don Mad
dox, Harold Mercer, E. R. Morgan, Coit M. Robinsor
Sam M. Stewart, Fred M. Waters, A. K. Winget, Jr
Frank A. Young, and Charles B. Zeigler. C. C. Dav\
son will serve as Chairman of the Board.
Several months after the plans were underway fo
the Institute in Gastonia, it became obvious that th
Morehead City Technical Institute (which had bee
operated on the same basis from 1947 until thi
year) was no longer needed in its present locatioi!
The tide of former G. I.'s had passed, there was littjf
demand from local industry in the region for peop]
with such training, and the bulk of the students wer
coming from the western areas of the State—
a
unnecessarily long distance.
It was therefore decided to consolidate the facilj
ties and the staff of the Morehead Institute with tr
one at Gastonia, to serve more effectively the peop
of the State. The present location of the Institut
in the heart of Gaston County, is more easily acces
ible to the industrial regions of North Carolin
Through its establishment we hope to fill most effec
ively our State's need for well-trained techniciai
for many important positions in our industrial ecoi
omy.
N. C. Cotton (Textile) Mfgrs. Association Active 46 Year
(SEE ARTICLE ON NEW OFFICE
The North Carolina Cotton Manufacturers' Asso-ciation
was organized in Charlotte, October 30, 1906,
as a means of bringing together textile mill officials
in North Carolina to consider matters of a mutual
interest, to dissolve mutual problems and to provide
factual data for the benefit of the industry. Prior
RS, NAME CHANGE, PAGE 139)
to this meeting a group of about 65 cotton mill off
cials met in Charlotte and adopted a resolution ca]
ing for the organization meeting two weeks late
The temporary committee to call the meetjng w;
composed of R. M. Miljer, Jr., named chairman; ar
J. P. Wilson, flamed secretary ; S. P. Tanner, Jam-
;ummer-Fall, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 85
V. Cannon, R. S. Reinhardt, S. Bryant (probably S.
3. Sargeant), John W. Fries, D. Y. Cooper and W.
I Ruffin.
In the organization meeting October 30, 1906, in
he absence of J. P. Wilson, David Clark was named
cmporary secretary. The group adopted the Con-titution
and elected officers as follows : R. M. Miller,
r., President; S. B. Sargeant, first vice-president;
Charles Iceman, second vice-president ; S. F. Patter-on,
third vice-president; W. L. Myrick, secretary
nd treasurer. Charlotte was selected as the site of
he principal office of the Association. In 1932,
ixteen years later, the Association decided to incor-iorate
and the incorporators were Charles A. Can-on,
Kannapolis; Thomas H. Webb, Concord, and
. M. Gamewell, Lexington.
Annual meetings of the Association were held dur-ng
the summer months until 1931, nine of them in
Charlotte, nine in Asheville, two each in Greensboro,
Vinston-Salem and Wrightsville Beach, and one
ach in Blowing Rock and Sedgefield Inn. Since that
ime most of the meetings have been held in Pine-iurst
in the fall, fourteen having been held in that
esort city. During World War II four meetings
pere held in Charlotte and one each in Winston-ialem
and Asheville. Semi-annual meetings were
eld at Pinehurst in the 1921-31 period.
Hunter Marshall, Charlotte attorney, was elected
ecretary-treasurer in August, 1918, and has served
n that capacity during the 34 years that followed,
le maintains the chief office of the organization in
he Independence Building, Charlotte. W. L. Myrick,
he first secretary, served two years followed by T. L.
Slack who served eight years and Hudson C. Miller
/ho served two years preceding Mr. Marshall's elec-ion.
The Association, through its secretary, keeps its
lembership fully informed on national and State
iws, rules and regulations in which they are inter-sted.
It handles intrastate problems dealing with
he textile industry and maintains contacts with the
aw-making bodies of the State and in gathering and
isseminating information of interest to the textile
tidustry. It interprets the tax and other laws relat-ag
to the industry, maintains a traffic department
nd seeks to develop a sympathetic public interest in
he problems of the textile industry.
An amendment to the Constitution of the North
Carolina Cotton Manufacturers' Association is now
nder consideration looking toward the change in
he name to make it the North Carolina Textile
lanufacturers' Association to bring it in line with
present day memberships. Producers of man-made
fibers, such as rayon, nylon and the others, have
affiliated with the Association since beginning opera-tions.
Present officers are Carl R. Harris, Erwin Mills,
Inc., Durham, president; H. K. Hallett, Kendall Mills,
Charlotte, first vice-president; E. N. Brower, Rock-fish-
Mebane Yarn Mills, Inc., Hope Mills, second vice-president;
Hunter Marshall, attorney-at-law, Char-lotte,
secretary-treasurer; L. 0. Kimberly, Jr., At-lanta,
Georgia, traffic manager.
Directors of the Association include the three offi-cers—
Mr. Harris, Mr. Hallett and Mr. Brower—and
18 directors in three groups of staggered three-year
terms : J. A. Cooper, Eugene Cross, Jr., G. V. Garth,
D. A. Long, Harold Mercer, W. H. Suttenfield; C. C.
Dawson, Marion W. Heiss, H. M. Jones, Paul M.
Neisler, J. C. Roberts, Ben R. Rudisill; Harry C.
Carter, John W. Harden, B. Everett Jordan, D. R.
LaFar, Jr., Albert S. Orr and Harold W. Whitcomb.
Past presidents who are ex officio directors are A.
M. Dixon, A. H. Bahnson, Bernard M. Cone, E. C.
Dwelle, C. A. Cannon, Harvey W. Moore, Herman
Cone, A. K. Winget, A. G. Myers, W. H. Entwistle,
William H. Ruffin, Ellison A. Smyth, R. A. Spaugh,
Jr., R. L. Harris, R. D. Hall, Hearne Swink, Karl
Bishopric, Frank C. Williams and Julian Robertson.
Following the organization R. M. Miller, Jr., con-tinued
to serve as president for five years. He was
succeeded by C. E. Hutchinson who served three
years. Robert R. Ray served one year and A. A.
Thompson served two years. After his two terms,
1915-16, presidents were elected for one term only.
All presidents who served prior to 1920 are now
deceased. Presidents since 1916 were W. C. Ruffin*,
1917; John L. Patterson*, 1918; Arthur J. Draper*,
1919; Arthur M. Dixon, 1920; T. C. Leak*, 1921; A.
H. Bahnson, 1922; J. H. Webb*, 1923; Bernard M.
Cone, 1924; F. C. Dwelle, 1925; S. F. Patterson*,
1926; J. M. Gamewell*, 1927; C. G. Hill*, 1928; T.
H. Webb*, 1929 ; J. H. Separk*, 1930 ; W. D. Briggs*,
1931 ; K. P. Lewis*, 1932 ; C. A. Cannon, 1933 ; A. M.
Fairley*, 1934 ; J. A. Long*, 1935 ; Harvey W. Moore,
1936; Herman Cone, 1937; A. K. Winget, 1938; J.
Harvey White*, 1939; A. G. Myers, 1940; W. H.
Entwistle, 1941 ; William H. Ruffin, 1942; Ellison A.
Smyth, III, 1943; R. Arthur Spaugh, Jr., 1944; J. A.
Moore*, 1945; R. L. Harris, 1946; R. D. Hall, 1947;
Hearne Swink, 1948; Karl Bishopric, 1949; Frank
C. Williams, 1950, and Julian Robertson, 1951.
Deceased.
rextile Mills, Alphabetical by Towns, Operating in State
(Exclusive of Hosiery Mills)
Aberdeen—Robbins Mills, Inc. (plants also at Robbins,
laeford, Red Springs, N. C, and Clarksville, Va.
)
Albemarle—Efird Mfg. Co. (merged with American Yarn
: Processing Co., Mt. Holly)
Arden—L. C. Langston & Sons
Asheboro—Asheboro Braid Co.; Klopman Mills, Inc.
plants also at Siler City and Covington, Va. ) ; Standard
'ytape Co.; Stedman Mfg. Co., Inc.; E. H. Steere & Co., Inc.
Asheville—Biltmore Industries, Inc. ; Biltmore Spinning
!o.; Cone Mills Corp. (branch of Cone Mills Corp., Greens-oro);
Martel Mills Corp. (plants also at Batesburg, S. C,
.exington, S. C, and Spartanburg, S. C.)
Avondale—Cone Mills Corp. (branch of Cone Mills Corp.,
Greensboro)
Balfour—Berkeley Mills, Inc.
Belmont—Aberfoyle Mfg. Co. (branch of Chester, Pa.);
Acme Spinning Co.; Beltex Corp.; Belmont Throwing Corp.;
Chronicle Mills; Climax Spinning Co.; Commercial Gassing
Co.; Cornucopia Corp.; Crescent Spinning Co.; Eagle Yarn
Mills, Inc.; Linford Mills, Inc.; Majestic Mfg. Co.; National
Yarn Mills, Inc.; Perfection Spinning Co.; Piedmont Process-ing
Co.; Southern Yarn & Processing Co.; South Fork Mfg.
Co.; Sterling Spinning Co.; Stowe Spinning Co.; Stowe
Thread Co.
PAGE 86 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-Fall, 1952
A Few of the Pioneer Textile Manufacturers of North Carolina
James W. Cannon, founder of the ex- Moses H. Cone, co-founder of large Ceasar Cone, co-founder with his Alexander Chatham, founder and loni
tensive Cannon Mills, centered in Kan- Cone Mills Corp. and Cone Mills Inc., brother, Moses H. Cone, of Cone Mills head of the large Chatham Manufac
napolis and Concord. spreading out from Greensboro. Corp. and Cone Mills Inc., Greensboro, turing Co. at Elkin.
W. A. Erwin, first general manager and
for many years president of Erwin Cot-ton
Mills, Durham, now Erwin Mills,
Inc.
C. W Johnston, organizer and for
many years head of the large group in
the Johnston Mills Co. originating in
Charlotte.
Bessemer City—Algodon Mfg. Co., Inc.; Frank Mills Co.;
Gambrill & Melville Mills Co.; Osage Mfg. Co. (subsidiary
of Reeves Bros., Inc., N. Y. C.
)
Biltmore—Sayles Biltmore Bleacheries, Inc. (subsidiary
of Sayles Finishing Plants, Inc., Saylesville, R. I.)
Biscoe—Aileen Mills Co.
Bladenboro—Bladenboro Cotton Mills, Inc.
Boiling Springs—Marion Yarn Mill, Inc.
Boonville—Beaver Creek Weaving Co., Inc.
Brevard—Pisgah Mills, Inc.
Brookford—Brookford Mills (Div. of A. D. Julliard & Co.,
Inc., N. Y. C.)
Buffalo—Dover Yarn Mills, Inc.
Burlington—Burlington Mills Corp. (branch of Burlington
Mills Corp., Greensboro) ; Celanese Lanese Corp. (subsidiary
of Celanese Corp. of America) ; Copland Converting & Fin-ishing
Co.; Copland Fabrics, Inc.; Copland-Fowler Industries,
Inc.; Frissell Fabrics, Inc.; Glencoe Mills; National Process-ing
Co.; U. S. Rubber Co. (branch of 1230 Sixth Ave., N. Y.
C.) (plants also at Gastonia, Hogansville, Ga., Shelbyville,
Tenn.; Winnsboro, S. C, and Scottsville, Va. ) ; Webco Mills,
Inc.
Burnsville—The Duplan Corp. (branch of Hazelton, Pa.)
(plants also at Winston-Salem, Lincolnton, Grottoes, Va.,
and Cleveland, Tenn); Glen Raven Silk Mills, Inc. (branch
of Glen Raven)
Butner—Mt. Hope Finishing Co., Inc.
Bynum—J. M. Odell Mfg. Co.
Caroleen—Henrietta Mills (plants also at Henrietta and
Cherokee Falls, S. C.)
Carrboro—Carrboro Mills (Div. of Pacific Mills, Boston,
Mass.) (plants also at Columbia, S. C, Lyman, S. C, Rhod-hiss,
N. C, Halifax, Va., Drakes Branch, Va., and Brookneal,
Va.)
William H. Battle, son of Founder Joel Stuart W. Cramer, founder and fo
Battle, for some twenty years head of many years president of Cramertoi
Battle Mill, now Rocky Mount Mills, Mills, Cramerton, now part of Burling]
was a Justice of N. C. Supreme Court, ton Mills.
Carthage—Carthage Fabrics Corp.
Cedar Falls—Jordan Spinning* Co. ; Sapona Mfg. Co., Inc
Central Falls—Burlington Mills,»Corp. (branch of Greens
boro
)
Charlotte—Barber'Mfg. 'Co. ; Calvine Cotton Mills, Inc]
(subsidiary of Leading Embroidery Co., North Bergen, N. J.
(see also The Smitherman Cotton Mills, Troy) ; Carolin:
Processing Co.; Chadwick Mills; Crescent Narrow Fabric
Corp.; Highland Park Mfg. Co. (nos. 1 and 3); Industriaj
Dyeing Corp. of N. C. ; Johnston Mfg. Co.; Kendall Mill!
(plant also at Paw Creek); Lawrence Knitting Mills, Inc
Leno-Tex Mills, Inc.; Moore Textile Co.; Piedmont Mop Go.
Inc. ; Scandinavia Belting Co. ; Southern Asbestos Cq
Southern Friction Materials Co.; Southern Knitwear Mill
Inc.; Spatex Corp.; Stowe Mfg. Co.; Superior Knitters, Inc
Textron Southern, Inc.
Cherryville—Carlton Yarn Mills, Inc.; Dora Yarn Mil
Co.; Howell Mfg. Co.; Nuway Spinning Co., Inc.; Rhyne
Houser Mfg. Co.
China Grove—Cannon Mills (plant No. 8) (branch !>
Kannapolis, N. C.) ; China Grove Cotton Mills Co.
Claremont—C. D. Jessup & Co.
Clayton—Bartex Spinning Co. (affiliate of Norwich Knitj
ting Co., Norwich, N. Y.); Clayton Spinning Co. ; Norwic
Knitting Co. (branch of Norwich, N. Y.)
Cliffside—Cone Mills Corp. (branch of Cone Mills Corp
Greensboro) ,
}
Coleridge—Enterprise Mfg. Co.
Columbus—Hatch Mill Corp.; Southern Woven Label Co
Inc. (subsidiary of Alkahn Silk Label Co., N.Y.C.); Unio
Processing Co.
Concord—Brown Mfg. Co.; Cannon Mills Co. (plants No;
2, 5, 6, 9, 10) (branches of Kannapolis, N. C); Guntei,
Ashmore Mfg. Co., Inc.; Oscar Heineman Corp. (div. c
UMMER-FALL, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 87
etna Industrial Corp.) ; Kerr Bleaching & Finishing Works,
ic. ; Linn Mills Co. (branch of Landis, N. C. ) ; Locke Cotton
[ills Co.; Roberta Mfg. Co.; The Stead & Miller Co. (branch
f Philadelphia, Pa.); Universal Mills Corp.
Connelly Springs—Francis Fabrics, Inc.
Cooleemee—Erwin Mills, Inc. (Mill No. 3) (branch of
urham, N. C.)
Cornelius—Gem Yarn Mill, Inc.; Sheraton Mills Corp.
subsidiary of Frank Ix & Sons, Englewood, N. J.) (plants
t Lexington and Charlottesville, Va.
)
Cramerton—Burlington Mills Corp. (branch of Burling-
>n Mills Corp., Greensboro)
Cumberland—Rockflsh-Mebane Yarn Mills, Inc. (branch
t Hope Mills), (plant also at Mebane)
Dallas—Dallas Mills, Inc.; Morowebb Cotton Mill Co.
Div. of Macanal Textile Corp.); Robinson Mills, Inc.
Davidson—Carolina Asbestos Co.; McCanless Mills, Inc.
plant No. 5) (branch of Salisbury)
Double Shoals—Double Shoals Mills, Inc.
Draper—Fieldcrest Mills (branch of Spray)
Durham—Erwin Mills, Inc. (Nos. 1, 4 and 6) (plants also
, Erwin, Cooleemee, Neuse and Stonewall, Miss.); Golden
elt Mfg. Co.
East Monbo—Superior Yarn Mills (branch of Mount
oily)
Edenton—Edenton Cotton Mills
Elkin—Chatham Mfg. Co.
Ellenboro—Neisler Mills, Inc. (branch of Kings Mountain)
Enka—American Enka Corp. (plant also at Lowland, near
orristown, Tenn.)
Erwin—Erwin Mills, Inc. (Mills Nos. 2 and 5) (branch of
urham, N. C.)
Fayetteville—Burlington Mills Corp.; Holt-Williamson
fg. Co.; Tolar, Hart & Holt Mills, Inc.
Fletcher—Cranston Print Works Co. (branch of Cran-on,
R. I.)
Forest City—Alexander Mill (Div. of North Carolina Fin-ning
Co., Salisbury) ; Florence Mills (subsidiary of Cone
ills Corp., Greensboro); Henry F. Thomas, Inc.
Franklinton—Burlington Mills Corp. (branch of Greens-aro)
; Sterling Cotton Mills, Inc.
Franklinville—Randolph Mills, Inc.
Gastonia—American & Efird Mills, Inc. (Dixon Plant)
branch of American & Efird Mills, Inc., Mt. Holly); Asso-ated
Spinners, Inc. (see Delaine Worsted Mills, Inc., Div.);
ernside Mills, Inc.; Burlington Mills Corp. (Modena and
lint No. 1 and No. 2 Plants) (branch of Greensboro) ; Cen-tal
Yarn & Dyeing Co., Inc.; Delaine Worsted Mills, Inc.
Div. of Asosciated Spinners); Firestone Textiles (Div. of
he Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio) ; Gastonia
ombed Yarn Corp.; Gastonia Weaving Co.; Gray Mills, Inc.;
roves Thread Co., Inc.; Jewel Cotton Mills, Inc. (Process-ig
Div. and Thread Div.) (branch of Thomasville) ; LaFar
hain (plants are Farmac Mills, Inc., Rock Hill, S. C;
arden Mfg. Co., Hardins, N. C; Clayton (N. C.) Spinning
o. ; Bowling Green (S. C.) Spinning Co.; Peck Mfg. Co.,
farrenton, N. C; Tolar, Hart & Holt Mill, Fayetteville,
. C; Waxhaw (N. C.) Mfg. Co.); Parkdale Mills, Inc.; Pied-ont
Fabrics; Piedmont Mill, Inc.; Textile Laboratories;
extiles, Inc.; Threads, Inc.; Todd-Smith Banding Co., Inc.;
renton Cotton Mills; U. S. Rubber Co. (plants also at Ho-insville,
Ga., Winnsboro, S. C, Burlington, N. C, Shelby-lie,
Tenn., and Scottsville, Va. ); Waverly Braid Mills.
Gibsonville—Liberty Hosiery Mills, Inc. ; Cone Mills Corp.
Minneola Plant) (branch of Cone Mills Corp., Greensboro)
Glen Raven—Glen Raven Cotton Mills, Inc. (Mill No. 1,
ill No. 2 at Kinston)
Goldsboro—Borden Mfg. Co.
Goldston—The Goldtex Development & Mfg. Corp.
Graham—Travora Textiles, Inc. (plant also at Haw River)
Granite Falls—Falls Mfg. Co.; Shuford Mills, Inc. (Gran-e
Falls, Granite Cordage and Dudley Shoals Plants)
branch of Hickory)
Greensboro—Burlington Mills Corp. (Greensboro Weav-
Lg Plant) (branch of Burlington Mills Corp., Greensboro);
urlington Mills Corp. (Hosiery Finishing Plant) (see Bur-ngton
Mills Corp., Greensboro) ; Cone Finishing Co. (print
orks) (subsidiary of Cone Mills Corp., Greensboro); Cone
ills Corp.; Guilford Mills, Inc.; High-Speed Threads, Inc.;
suthern Webbing Mills, Inc.; J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc. (Car-sr
Fabrics Div.) (Div. of J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc., 350 Fifth
ve., N. Y. C.) ; J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc. (Purchasing Dept.)
Div. of J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc.); Greenville Mills, Inc.
subsidiary of Art Loom Carpet Co., Philadelphia, Pa.)
Grover—Minette Mills, Inc.
Hanes—P. H. Hanes Knitting Co. (branch of Winston-
Salem)
Hardins—Harden Mfg. Co., Inc.
Haw River—Cone Finishing Co. (subsidiary of Cone Mills
Corp., Greensboro); Cone Mills Corp. (Tabardy Plant)
(branch of Greensboro); Travora Textiles, Inc. (branch of
Graham
)
Hazelwood—Royle & Pilkington, Inc.
Henderson—Harriet Cotton Mills; Henderson Cotton Mills
Hendersonville—Advance Thread Corp. ; Belding Corti-celli;
Blue Ridge Cord Co.; Colonial Spin-Braid Co.; R. & S.
Hosiery Mill
Henrietta—Henrietta Mills (Henrietta Mill) (branch of
Caroleen)
Henry River—Henry River Mills Co.
Hickory—Bedington Hosiery Mill; C. & D. Hosiery Mill;
Carolina Fine Fabrics, Inc.; Hickory Dyeing & Winding Co.,
Inc. ; Hickory Shoe Lace Mfg. Co. ; Hickory Spinners, Inc.
;
Hickory Throwing Co.; Ivey Weavers, Inc.; Nelly Bee Prod-ucts;
Shuford Mills, Inc. (Highland Cordage and A. A. Shu-ford
Plants)
High Falls—Currie Mill, Inc. (branch of knitting mill at
Carthage)
High Point—Burlington Mills Corp. (Hillcrest Throwing
and High Point Weaving Plants) (branch of Greensboro);
Cloverdale Dye Works, Inc.; Highland Cotton Mills, Inc.;
Pickett Cotton Mills, Inc.; Tex Elastic Corp.
High Shoals—Carolinian Mills, Inc.
Hildebran—Quaker Meadows Mills, Inc.
Hillsboro—Belle Vue Mfg. Co.; Cone Mills Corp. (Eno
Plant) (branch of Cone Mills Corp., Greensboro)
Homestead—The Leaksville Woolen Mills, Inc. (Mill No.
2) (plant also at Spray)
Hope Mills—Brower Mills, Inc.
Hudson—Caldwell Cotton Mill Co.; Hudson Cotton Mfg.
Co.
Huntersville—Carolina Mills, Inc. (Plant No. 5) (Branch
of Maiden)
Icard—Icard Cordage Mfg. Co.
Jamestown—Jamestown Mills, Inc. ; Oakdale Cotton Mills
Kalmia—Kalmia Braids, Inc.
Kannapolis—Cannon Mills (Plants Nos.
also at Concord, China Grove, Rockwell
Franjean Mills, Inc.; Greenway's Weaving
Kernersville—Southern Silk Mills, Inc.
Kings Mountain—Bonnie Cotton Mill; Burlington Mills
Corp. (Phenix Plant) (branch of Burlington Mills Corp.,
Greensboro); Craftspun Yarns, Inc. (Div. of Scranton Lace
Co., Scranton, Pa.); Frieda Mfg. Co. (subsidiary of Beaunit
Mills, Inc., N. Y. C. ) ; Kings Mountain Mfg. Co.; Lambeth
Rope Corp. (Kings Mountain branch) (branch of New Bed-ford,
Mass.); Mauncey Mills, Inc.; Neisler Mills, Inc. (plant
also at Ellenboro) ; Park Yarn Mills Co.; Sadie Cotton Mills
Co., Inc.; Slater Pile Fabric Corp.; The Loom-Tex Corp.
(Kings Mountain Div.)
Kinston—E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; Glen Raven
Cotton Mills, Inc. (Mill No. 2) (branch of Glen Raven)
Landis—Corriher Mills Co.; Linn Mills Co.; Tower Weav-ing
Corp.
Laurel Hill—Morgan Cotton Mills, Inc.
Laurinburg—Morgan Cotton Mills, Inc. (branch of Laurel
Hill); Scotland Mills, Inc.; Waverly Mills, Inc.
Lawndale—Cleveland Mills Co.
Leaksville—Fieldcrest Mills, Inc.
Lenoir—Caldwell Cotton Mills; Hayes Cotton Mfg. Co.;
Moore Cotton Mill Co.
Lexington—Barbet Mills, Inc.; Burlington Mills Corp.
(Lexington Rayon Plant) (branch of Greensboro); Dacotah
Cotton Mills, Inc.; Erlanger Mills, Inc.; Lexington Corp.
(subsidiary of Frank Ix & Sons, Englewood, N. J., and plants
at Cornelius and Charlottesville, Va. ); Wennonah Cotton
Mills Co.
Lincolnton—Balston Yarn Mills, Inc.; Boger & Crawford
Spinning Mill; Carolina Hosiery Sales Co., Inc.; Crown Con-verting
Co.; The Duplan Corp. (Lincolnton Div.) (plants
also at Winston-Salem, Burnsville, Cleveland, Tenn., Grot-toes,
Va.); Globe Mills Co. (Lincolnton Plant) (branch of
Mt. Holly); Indian Creek Mfg. Co.; Massapoag Mills Corp.;
Rhodes-Rhyne Mfg. Co., Inc.; D. E. Rhyne Mills, Inc. (Lab-oratory
Cotton Mills) (plant also at Southside) ; Rudisill-
Smith Co.; Rudisill Spinning Mills, Inc.; Smith Mills, Inc.;
Southern Spinners, Inc.; Tait Yarn Co., Inc.
Longhurst—Longhurst Mill of Roxboro Cotton Mills
Long Island—Superior Yarn Mills (branch of Mt. Holly)
Long Shoals—Long Shoals Cotton Mills
1 and 4) (plants
and Salisbury) ;
PAGE 88 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1952
Lowell—Beaunit Mills, Inc. (plants also at Rockingham,
Statesville and Childersburg) ; Lowell Weavers, Inc.; National
Weaving Co., Inc. (subsidiary of Beaunit Mills, Inc., N. Y.
C); Peerless Spinning Corp; United Spinners Corp.
Lumberton—Caledonia Mills, Inc.; Dennis Mills, Inc.
Madison—Madison Throwing Co.
Maiden—American Yarn & Processing Co. (Union Plant)
(branch of Mt. Holly and plants also at Gastonia and Whit-nel);
Carolina Mills, Inc. (plants also at Newton and Hunt-ersville);
J. & J. Spinning Mills; Macanal Mills No. 2, Inc.
(branch of Salisbury); Maiden Spinning Mills, Inc.
Marion—Clinchfleld Mfg. Co.; Conley Knitting Co.; Cross
Cotton Mills Co.; Marion Mfg. Co.
Marshville—Union Asbestos & Rubber Co. (branch of
Chicago, 111.)
Matthews—Longleaf Mills, Inc.
Mayodan—Washington Mills Co. (Mayodan Plant)
(branch of Fries, Va.
McAdenville—Pharr Worsted Mills, Inc.; Stowe Mills, Inc.
Mebane—Rockfish-Mebane Yarn Mills, Inc.
Monroe—Branson Co.; Manetta Mills (Monroe Mill)
(branch of Lando, S. C. ) ; Monroe Mills Co.; Union Mills
Co.; Williams Banding Co.
Mooresville—Burlington Mills Corp. (Cascade Rayon
Plant) (branch of Greensboro); Mooresville Mills (plant
also at Statesville)
Morganton—Duff Looms, Inc.; Morganton Weaving Co.;
Ross Fabrics, Inc.; Speir Textiles, Inc.
Mount Airy—Allendale Mills, Inc.; Mount Airy Knitting
Co.; Pine State Knitwear Co.; Quality Mills, Inc.; Ridgewood
Hosiery Mills, Inc.
Mount Holly—American Yarn & Processing Co. (plants
also at Maiden, Gastonia, Whittnel); Fibre Products, Inc.
(subsidiary of American Yarn & Processing Co., Mt. Holly) ;
Guild Mills Corp. (subsidiary of American Yarn & Process-ing
Co., Mt. Holly); Globe Mills Co. (plant also at Lincoln-ton);
Holly-Knit, Inc. (subsidiary of American Yarn &
Processing Co.); Leaksville Woolen Mills, Inc. (Branch of
Homestead); Superior Yarn Mills (plants also at East Mon-bo
and Long Island)
Mount Pleasant—Kindley Cotton Mills; Tuscarora Cotton
Mill
Murphy—City Hosiery Mill; The Duffy Silk Co.
Neuse—Erwin Mills, Inc. (Mill No. 7) (branch of Dur-ham)
Newton—Burlington Mills Corp. (Newton Rayon Plant)
(branch of Greensboro); Carolina Mills, Inc. (Mills Nos. 2,
3, and 4) (branch of Maiden); Clyde Fabrics; Inc.; Fiber
Mfg. Co.
North Wilkesboro—Grier Mills; Knitcraft Corp.
Norwood—Collins & Aikman Corp. (branch of Philadel-phia,
Pa.) (plant also at Roxboro)
Oakboro—Oakboro Cotton Mills Co.
Old Fort-—Clearwater Finishing Co.; United Rayon Mills
(Old Fort Div. ) (subsidiary of United Merchants and Man-ufacturers,
Inc., 1407 Broadway, N. Y. C.) (plant also at
Elberton, Ga.
Ossipee—Burlington Mills Corp. (Ossipee Weaving Plant)
(branch of Greensboro)
Oxford—Burlington Mills Corp. (Oxford Plant) (branch
of Greensboro)
Patterson—Valley Mills, Inc.
Paw Creek—Kendall Mills (Thrift Plant) (plants also at
Charlotte, N. C, Camden, S. C, Newberry, S. C, Edgefield,
S. C, and Pelzer, S. C.) ; Southern Textile Banding Mill
Pilot Mountain—Armtex, Inc.; Pilot Throwing, Inc.
Pineville—Cone Mills Corp. (Pineville Plant) (branch of
Greensboro)
Pisgah Forest—Endless Belt Corp. (In plant of Ecusta
Paper Corp.
)
Pittsboro—Chatham Mills, Inc.
Raeford—Para Thread Co. of N. C, Inc., (subsidiary of
American Wringer Co., Woonsocket, R. I.); Robbins Mills
(N. C), Inc. (Raeford Throwing Div. and Raeford Weaving
Div.) (branch of Aberdeen) (plants also at Red Springs and
Robbins)
Ragan—J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc. (Ragan Spinning Co.
Div.) (Div. of J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc., 350 Fifth Ave.,
N. Y. C.)
Raleigh—Pilot Mills Co.; American Woolen Co., Inc. (Ral-eigh
Mills)
Ramseur—Columbia Mfg. Co.; Ramseur Inter-Lock Knit-ting
Co.; Ramseur Mills, Inc. (subsidiary of Guerin Mills,
Inc., Woonsocket, R. I.)
Randleman—Cone Mills Corp. (Randleman Plant)
Ranlo—Burlington Mills Corp. (Ranlo Plant) (branch oi
Greensboro); Rex Mills, Inc.; A. M. Smyre Mfg. Co.; Spen
cer Mountain Mills.
Red Springs—Robbins Mills (N.C.) Inc. (Red Springs
Div.) (branch of Aberdeen) plants also at Robbins anc
Raeford)
Reidsville—Cone Mills Corp. (Edna Plant) (branch o:
Greensboro)
Rhodhiss—Pacific Mills (Rhodhiss Div.)
Rich Square—Northampton Mills
Roanoke Rapids—Patterson Mills Co.; Roanoke Milli
Co.; Rosemary Mfg. Co.
Roaring River—Gordon Spinning Co.
Robbins—Robbins Mills (N.C), Inc. (Robbins Div. I
(branch of Aberdeen) (plants also at Red Springs and Rae|
ford
)
Rockingham—Aleo Mfg. Co.; Beaunit Mills, Inc.; Bur
lington Mills Corp. (Steele Plant) (branch of Greensboro)!
Hannah Pickett Worsted Mills (Div. of M. T. Stevens Southf
ern, Div. of J. P. Stevens & Co., N.Y.C.) ; Ledbetter Mfg. Co.j
Pee Dee Textile Co., Inc.; Safie Mfg. Co.
Rockwell—Cannon Mills Co. (Plant No. 11) (branch oj
Kannapolis, N. C.)
Rocky Mount—Rocky Mount Cord Co. ; Rocky Mount Fin
ishing Co.; Rocky Mount Mills; Rocky Mount Rayon Mills!
A. Schottland, Inc.; Sidney Blumenthal & Co., Inc. (Cara}
mount Div.
)
Roseboro—Hill Spinning Co.
Roxboro—Collins & Aikman Corp. (branch of New Yor]
City) (plant also at Norwood) ; Roxboro Cotton Mills (plan
at Longhurst) ; Somerset Mills, Inc.
Rutherfordton—Excelsior Mills (branch of Union, S. C.
(plants also at Clemson College, S. C, and Pendleton, S. C.)j
Grace Cotton Mill Co. (subsidiary of Reeves Bros., Inc., Ne\
York City); Laurel Mills, Inc.; Special Yarns Co., Inc.
Salisbury—Cannon Mills Co. (Mill No. 7) (branch of Kan
napolis); Carlton Yarn Mills, Inc. (Cartex Div.) (branch o
Cherryville) ; Cone Mills Corp. (Salisbury Plant) (branch o
Cone Mills Corp., Greensboro); Macanal Mills, Inc. (plan
also at Maiden) ; McCanless Mills, Inc. (plant also at David
son); North Carolina Finishing Co. (plant also at Fores
City) ; Rowan Cotton Mills Co.
Sanford—Father George Mills, Inc.
Saxapahaw—Sellers Dyeing Co. ; Sellers Mfg. Co.
Selma—Eastern Mfg. Co.; Selma Cotton Mills Unit o
Interchemical Corp. (Coated Products Div.) (branch of Nei
York City)
Sevier—American Thread Co. (plants also at Dalton, Ga
Newnan, Ga., Tallapoosa, Ga., Clover, S. O, Troutman, N. C
and Bristol, Tenn.)
Shelby—Belmont Cotton Mills Co.; Consolidated Textil
Co., Inc. (Ella Div.) (plant also at Lynchburg, Va. ); Dove
Mill Co.; Esther Mill Corp.; Lily Mills Co.; Ora Mill Co.
Shelby Cotton Mills; J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc. (Clevelan
Cloth Mills Div.) (Div. of J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc., 350 Fift
Ave., N.Y.C.)
Siler City—Hadley Peoples Mfg. Co.; Klopman Mills, In<
Smithfieid—Burlington Mills Corp. (Smithfield Plant
(branch of Greensboro)
Southern Pines—Dale Dwyer, Inc.
Southside—D. E. Rhyne Mills, Inc. (Lincoln Cotton Mills
(branch of Lincolnton)
Spencer Mountain—Spencer Mountain Mills (see Ranlo)
Spindale—The Elmore Corp.; Spindale Mills, Inc.; Spir
ners Processing Co.; Stonecutter Mills Corp.
Spray—Fieldcrest Mills (div. of Marshall Field & Co. c
Chicago, 111.) (plants also at Leaksville, Draper, Fieldal
Va., and Zion, 111.); Leaksville Woolen Mills, Inc. (Mill N
1) (branch of Homestead); Morehead Cotton Mills Co
Spray Cotton Mills.
Stanley—J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc. (Stanley Mills Div
Plants 1 and 2) (Div. of J. P. Stevens & Co., N. Y. C.)
Statesville—Beaunit Mills, Inc. (Phoenix Div.) (planlj
also at Lowell, Rockingham and Childersburg, Ala.); Enj
pire Mfg. Corp.; Iredell Knitting Mills; Mooresville Mill!
(Plant No. 7) (branch of Mooresville); Paola Cotton Mill:
Inc.; Seminole Mills (branch of Clearwater); Statesvillj
Narrow Fabric Co.; Statesville Throwing Mill
Stoneville—Baxter, Kelly & Faust, Inc. (branch of Phils
delphia, Pa.)
|
Stony Point—Killingly Worsted Mill; Worth Spinning C<
St. Pauls—Burlington Mills Corp. (Roberson Textiles an
St. Pauls Rayon Plants) (branch of Greensboro)
Swannanoa—Beacon Mfg. Co. (plants also at Westminste
S. C, and Winder, Ga.
)
JMMER-FALL, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 89
Swepsonville—Virginia Mills, Inc.
Tarboro—Hart Cotton Mills, Inc.
Taylorsville—Brookwood Mills, Inc.; Irene Mills, Inc.;
hodes-Whitener Mills, Inc.; Schneider Mills
Thomasville—Amazon Cotton Mills; Jewel Cotton Mills,
c
Troutman—American Thread Co. (Troutman Div. ) (plants
so at CloArer, S. C, Dalton, Ga., and Tallapoosa, Ga., New-m,
Ga., Bristol, Tenn., and Sevier, N. C.) ; Pine State Yarn
ills, Inc.
Troy—A. Leon Capel; The Smitherman Cotton Mills.
Tryon—Moss-Poy Textile Co.; Kilburn Mills (branch of
8W Bedford, Mass.) ; Southern Mercerizing Co., Inc.; Tryon
"ocessing Co.
Turnersburg—Rocky Creek Mills, Inc.
Tuxedo—Green River Mills, Inc.
Valdese—Burkyarns, Inc.; Valdese Mfg. Co.; Valdese
'eavers, Inc.
Vass—Angus Mills, Inc.; Textron Southern, Inc. (branch
Anderson, S. C.)
Wadesboro—Hornwood Warp Knitting Corp. ; Little Cot-n
Mfg. Co.; Wade Mfg. Co.; West Knitting Corp.
Wake Forest—Burlington Mills Corp. (Wake Finishing
lant) (branch of Greensboro) ; Royal Cotton Mill Co.
Wallace—J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc. (Carter Fabrics Div.)
Div. of J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc., N. Y. C.)
Warrenton—Peck Mfg. Co. of N. C, Inc.
Waxhavv—Waxhaw Mfg. Co.
Waynesville—Royle & Pilkington, Inc. (see Hazelwood)
Whitnel—American Yarn & Processing Co. (Nelson Plant)
jranch of Mt. Holly) (plants also at Gastonia and Maiden) ;
)un Fibers, Inc. (subsidiary of American Yarn & Process-g
Co., Mt. Holly)
Wilmington—Spofford Mills, Inc.; Timme Corp.; Wil-ington
Warp Knitting Co.
Wilson—Sidney Blumenthal & Co., Inc. (Wilson Div.)
jranch of Rocky Mount)
Winston-Salem—Arista Mills Co.; Carolina Insulating
arn Co.; Carolina Narrow Fabric Co.; The Duplan Corp.
jranch of Hazelton, Pa.) (plants also at Burnsville, Lin-
)lnton, Cleveland, Tenn., and Grottoes, Va.); Hanes Dye
Finishing Co.; P. H. Hanes Knitting Co.; Indera Mills
o. ; Washington Mills Co.
Worthville—Leward Cotton Mills, Inc.
RWIN MILLS GROUP IN PICTURE
48 YEARS OLD; THREE OF DUKES
An intensely interesting old group picture (below) taken
sarly 50 years ago and showing 14 prominent individuals
mnected in various ways with the early development of the
rwin Cotton Mills, now Ervvin Mills, Inc., has been made
mailable by Erwin Mill officials.
This picture is intriguing in part because it shows Washing-
>n Duke and his two sons, Benjamin N. Duke and James B.
uke, whose chief fame was acquired through tobacco manu-facturing.
However, they were the founders and the principal
owners of Erwin Mills. The picture was made at Duke, now
Erwin. Information indicates that it was taken in the summer
of 1904 when the Erwin Mill at Duke had been completed and
was about ready to start operation and not in the fall of 1902
as a notation on the back of the picture seemed to indicate. At
that time the Cape Fear and Northern Railroad Co. line
—
now Durham and Southern—extended from Apex to Angier
only. W. A. Erwin, then secretary-treasurer and general
manager of the Erwin Mills, wanted the line extended to Duke
in order to serve the new mill, and later Captain Lemon, shown
in the picture, had charge of the construction of this extension.
Others shown in the picture were interested either in the mill,
the railroad or were associated with the Duke interests in
various ways.
This group made the trip to Duke to inspect the mill and
also to inspect the 5,000 acres of very beautiful farm and
timber land owned by the mill company. Proposal for the
extension of this railroad from Angier to Duke was probably
also a matter considered on the trip.
At the time the Erwin Cotton Mills was founded in 1892 by
J. B. Duke and associates for the purpose of making tobacco
cloth for smoking tobacco bags, the officers were B. N. Duke,
president; George W. Watts, vice-president; W. A. Erwin,
secretary-treasurer and general manager, and W. W. Fuller,
counselor. The directors were Washington Duke, George W.
Watts, W. A. Erwin and B. N. Duke. They were also probably
the officers at the time the picture was made.
Included in the picture, seated left to right, are Benjamin N.
Duke; Washington Duke; James B. Duke; Thomas Walker, a
tobacco buyer for the Duke interests; Colonel Carrington, to-bacco
buyer for the Dukes (one list gave his name as Thomas
P. Moore); James S. Cobb, leaf tobacco dealer, and Colonel J.
C. Angier, manager of the present Durham and Southern
Railroad and of the Cary Lumber Co., who married a distant
cousin of B. N. Duke and whose sister married B. N. Duke.
Second row, left to right: Dr. A. G. Carr, brother of the late
General Julian S. Carr and father of William F. Carr, for many
years mayor of Durham, who accompanied Washington Duke
as a personal physician; W. A. Erwin, secretary-treasurer and
general manager of the mill; J. E. Stagg, private secretary to
B. N. Duke, who married a niece of Washington Duke; Frank
P. Tate, civil engineer in charge of construction of the mill
at Duke; E. S. Yarbrough, assistant to Mr. Tate; Captain
Lemon, C.E., of the present Durham and Southern Railroad,
who was in charge of construction of the extension from Angier
to Duke; Frank L. Fuller, one of the attorneys for the Duke
interests.
It is interesting to note that E. S. Yarbrough, youngest
looking man in the group, is the only member surviving today.
Mr. Yarbrough furnished much of the information included
in this article and relates many human interest stories con-nected
with individuals in the picture who took the trip to
Duke. Mr. Frank L. Fuller, 84, died September 10, 1952, at
his home in New York City, after a short illness. He was at-torney
for Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. for 30 years, 1911 until
1941, when he retired.
Page 90 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-Fall, 195'
Huge Post-war Growth of N. C. Textiles; Many New Plant!
By Paul Kelly, Head, Division of Commerce and Industry
N. C. State Dept. of Conservation & Development
In the period from the close of World War II
until late 1951, North Carolina's great textile indus-try
has enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth.
In 1951, the Blue Book of Southern Progress showed
1,047 textile plants in North Carolina (13 percent
of all plants), 230,000 workers (54 percent of all
workers), with sales amounting to $2,688,000,000,
or 44 percent of all sales of manufactured products
in North Carolina.
In 1939, there were only 695 plants, 181,246 work-ers
and value of products amounted to $549,741,388,
which was 39 percent of total value of products. The
latest figures compiled by the North Carolina De-partment
of Labor show 240,000 persons, or 2 out
of every 3 of our industrial workers, engaged in the
manufacture of textiles.
This great North Carolina industry, however, does
not live to itself alone. Between it and scores of
other industries there exists an interdependence of
the utmost importance in keeping the State economy
on an even keel. The textile industry buys and sells
to and from virtually every other major industry in
the State.
Government figures show, in a single postwar year,
on a national scale, the textile industry paid out
$2,079,000,000 in purchase of agricultural supplies,
bought $800,000,000 worth of chemicals and $438,-
000,000 worth of goods from miscellaneous small
industries. The industry spent millions more for
fuel and energy and transportation and paid out still
more millions in taxes and numerous other payments,
of which North Carolina has received her share.
What benefits textiles benefits American business
generally.
Until comparatively recent years, the primary tex-tile
development in the State was cotton spinning,
largely the coarser yarns, with only a limited amount
of weaving and little dyeing and finishing. Today,
we are witnessing the almost unbelievable growth of
the manufacture of man-made fibers—synthetics
in our State.
DuPont is erecting a $30 million plant, the first
of its kind in the world, near Kinston, to produce
Dacron. Its impact is already felt in Eastern Caro-lina
towns. Allied industries are now under con-sideration
in several near-by towns to handle the
product from the Dacron plant when operation be-gins
in 1953.
Dacron—a condensation polymer—is classified as
one of the miracle textiles and takes its place along-side
Nylon and Orion. When the plant is completed,
it is estimated that the payroll will be around $4,000,-
000 a year and employ 1400 persons. It will have an
annual capacity of 10 million pounds of continuous
filament yarn and 25 million pounds of staple and
tow.
Carbon and Carbide Chemicals Corporation, a di-vision
of Union Carbide and Carbon Company, ex-pects
to start soon on a $30 million plant at Spray
—
the home of the discovery of calcium carbide—to
produce Dynel staple, a synthetic fiber, at the rate
of 20 million pounds per year. It is expected that
whicl
3 du I
1,0C
employment will be between 300 and 500 person:
with an annual payroll of more than $1 million.
The new fiber, Dynel, is now being used in blanl
ets, men's socks, apparel blends, doll wigs, industri;
uniforms, and in other applications where the cha
acteristics of the material are far superior to thos
of wool.
J. P. Stevens & Co. has recently completed a ne
synthetics weaving mill at Wallace, costing $2 mi
lion, which will employ around 300 persons with a
estimated weekly payroll of over $20,000.
Duffy Silk Co. has erected a $400,000 nylon throv
ing plant at Murphy, which will employ about IE
people. In addition to the plant construction, tr
equipment represents an investment of several hui
dred thousand dollars more. Production is just ge
ting underway in this plant.
American Thread Co. is constructing a new mult
million dollar plant at Sevier, near Marion, whi
is scheduled to begin operation on a small scale
ing the year. This plant will employ 800 to
persons when it reaches full capacity. Operatior
at this plant will be set up in two divisions—the fir
will involve the finishing of weaving and knittir
yarns, while the second will include the finishing <
such domestic products as small spools, skeins ar
balls of thread. Plans call for three main un
buildings, one of which is to have around 300,0(
sq. ft. of floor space. The entire plant will have ov<
600,000 sq. ft. of floor space when completed.
Robbins Mills (N. C), Inc., has recently complete
a $4 million synthetic processing plant at Robbii
and a $12 million spun rayon plant in Raeford. Tl
Raeford plant will employ around 900 persons. (St
pictures, pages 105-107).
Klopman Mills, Inc., synthetic weavers, recent
began production in their new Siler City plant whi<
contains 150,000 sq. ft. and employs 400 persons wii
a weekly payroll of around $25,000. The Ashebo:
plant, which employs 1,000 people, is still beir
expanded. !
Frank Ix and Sons are operating a $1 millio
broad-woven fabric mill in Lexington, which wj|
completed in 1950. They employ around 250 wor
ers.
Mount Hope Finishing Co. has recently establish
a plant at Butner which is engaged in job finishii
of synthetic yarn fabrics and expects to employ mo
than 300 workers, with an annual payroll of aroui
$750,000. Mount Hope has also purchased 19 acr
of land adjoining its present location.
Burlington Mills Corp., World's largest fabricato
of man-made fibers, has recently started constru
tion on an addition that will add 10,000 sq. ft.
floor space to its Cetwiok plant in Asheboro. Tr
plant was purchased by Burlington Mills in 1939 ai
has been expanded jthree times since then. The pla
processes nylon yarn and employs approximately m
persons.
j The Reidsville Throwing Plant of Burlington Mi!
is being converted into a regional warehousing aii
shipping operation.
Summer-fall, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 91
The Oxford Spinning Plant of Burlington Mills
has recently been expanded to approximately double
its size.
In 1950, Burlington Mills bought a plant site at
Lillington for the erection of a large finishing plant
which will be a part of the Company's future expan-sion
program. In 1951, Burlington Mills also bought
a site at Sanford for the erection of a synthetic weav-ing
plant, which will also be a part of their future
expansion program.
Belding Hemingway Co., Inc., completed its $2
million Hendersonville Belding Corticelli plant in late
'51. This is the only plant in the Nation devoted ex-clusively
to the production of Monocord thread, a
new development in the field of synthetics. The
product has been described as the outstanding new
development in the manufacture of sewing thread.
The plant is on a 15-acre site, has a floor space of
approximately 50,000 sq. ft. and expects to employ
400 persons.
Kilburn Mills is completing a $2 million plant at
Tryon. This is a finishing establishment for sewing
threads for industrial purposes and supplying sew-ing
thread to other mills. About 150 persons will be
employed. This modern building has 60,000 sq. ft.
of floor space and is one of the few buildings of its
kind to be erected in recent years entirely without
the use of steel for frame work.
The Oscar Heineman Corp. has recently announc-ed
that it will have an immediate investment of ap-proximately
$300,000 in equipment in the 40,000 sq.
ft. plant they have just purchased in Concord from
Hoover Hosiery Company. They will employ 125
persons with an annual payroll of approximately
$400,000. This is a nylon throwing plant for the
textile industry.
The Duplan Corporation has started production in
its new million dollar rayon and nylon manufacturing
plant at Burnsville and plans to employ up to 500
persons.
Cranston Print Works, textile finishers and dyers,
is in full operation in its $3,500,000 plant in Fletcher,
which was started in 1948. This concern employs
approximately 400 persons.
The woolen and worsted industry is also following
the trend of Southern plant location. North Caro-lina
is exceedingly proud of the mills which have
located within its boundaries.
The $2 million Hatch Mill, owned by Deering-Mil-liken,
at Columbus, has recently begun operation.
This plant manufactures raw stock dyed woolens,
primarily for dress and sportswear trades. Around
250 persons are employed. (See picture, page 129.)
Wyandotte Worsted Mills have purchased a site at
Lakeview, Moore County, and plan to erect a modern
Duplan Corp., new and modern million dollar plant at Burns-ville,
manufacturing rayon and nylon textiles.
plant soon which will employ between 400 and 500
persons. \
Woonsocket Falls Mills at Wilmington is in opera-tion
now in its $3,500,000 plant, employing approxi-mately
700 persons. They manufacture pile fabrics
of various types.
Greenville Mills, Inc., a subsidiary of Artloom
Carpet Co., Inc., woolen yarn mill of Greenville, is
in full production, including wool blending, washing,
dyeing, spinning and twisting, with an annual pay-roll
of between $350,000 and $400,000 and employing
around 150 persons.
Ramseur Worsted Mills, Inc., a subsidiary of Gue-rin
Mills, has recently completed the construction of
a worsted spinning mill in Ramseur.
American Woolen Co. is in production in Raleigh
in the old Premier Worsted plant. With an estimat-ed
plant investment of $1,750,000 and around 250
employees engaged in making worsted cloth, it is
expected that employment will increase steadily,
probably to 900.
The growing importance of North Carolina as a
center of the textile industry has been re-emphasized
recently in the announcements of the Duplan Cor-poration
and the Celanese Corporation that they are
moving their offices and operations centers to Char-lotte.
Duplan's office controls the operations of nine
weaving and throwing plants in the United States
and acts in an advisory capacity to the Company's
two plants in Canada. No estimate has been given
as yet to the amount of money to be invested in the
new headquarters. The move is being made because
Charlotte offers an ideal center for handling the
operations of the Company's various plants.
Construction has already begun on the $5 million
Celanese headquarters building, which will have
250,000 sq. ft. of floor space. Around 700 persons
will be employed in these offices, which, when com-pleted
in 1954 will compose the largest office build-ing
in North Carolina. Here will be concentrated
the engineering, research, quality control and other
central office functions of this large synthetic fiber
manufacturer.
With the constant increase of textile plants in
North Carolina comes the demand for trained tech-nologists
and other specialized personnel. The
School of Textiles at North Carolina State College,
one of the foremost textile schools in the world, is
constantly adding new courses to its curriculum in
order to keep its students trained in the newest
textile developments.
Plans have been announced for setting up a train-ing
program for loom fixers at Erwin and Coolee-mee
through the assistance of Erwin Mills, Inc. by
the State Department of Public Instruction. The
PAGE 92 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1952
im
Recently erected $3,500,000 plant of Woonsocket Falls Mills at
Wilmington, employing about 700 workers and making
varied types of pile fabrics.
first class has been completed in the Durham school,
which was set up by them.
Gaston County opened its Gaston Technical In-stitute
in Gastonia this fall to train maintenance
men in the mechanics of all phases of textile ma-chinery
and equipment.
The North Carolina Vocational Textile School,
built in 1943, near Belmont, is the only institution
of its kind in the United States, offering courses in
every phase of textile work from the cleaning of
cotton to the tailoring of suits. Students receive
diplomas at the end of a two-year course. Class
..:-."".....
:ifl!i^fil!!!t^
hours are arranged so that persons working in
near-by mills can attend the school without inter-rupting
their employment schedule.
The New York Alumni group of the School of
Textiles at State College has recently recommended
that several courses in textile marketing and mer-chandizing
be established in the School of Textiles,
This group expressed the belief that these courses
would be beneficial to the people of the State, inas
much as North Carolina has more mills than any
other State and that 44 percent of the State's indus-trial
income is derived from the textile industry.
North Carolina may well be proud of its leading;
industry !
!
Rocky Mount Oldest Continuing Mill, One Family, One Site
Rocky Mount Mills, Rocky Mount, is possibly the oldest
mill organization in North Carolina. Certainly it is the oldest
mill that has operated continuously on the same site except
for periods for rebuilding the burned plant and continuously
operated by one family—the Battles. The mill was established
in 1818 at the Falls of Tar River where a granite ledge formed
a natural dam which supplied water power for the plant and
is now operated under the direction of the fifth generation of
Battles.
The founders were Joel Battle, Peter Evans and Henry
Donaldson. The original building, erected in 1818 on a solid
rock foundation, was four stories high although only 30 feet
wide by 76 feet long. By 1825 Joel Battle had become the sole
owner and operated the mill until his death in 1829. During
all this period and until 1852 the mill was operated by slave
labor and was strictly a community enterprise. Local growers
brought the raw cotton and exchanged it for yarn and cloth.
Yarns also were exchanged for meat, grain and other farm
products.
When Joel Battle died, his estate was divided among his
children and the mill was operated as Battle & Bros, under the
direction of the oldest son, William H. Battle, who later became
a Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Another of
Joel's sons, Benjamin G. Battle, built as a residence in 1835,
the present main office. Joel's sons operated the mill until
1847 when it was sold to a cousin, James S. Battle, and his son,
William S. Battle. In this period the tracks of the Wilmington
& Weldon Railroad (now Atlantic Coast Line) were laid within
a mile of the mill. Then it passed out of its earlier classifica-tion
as purely a local enterprise. In 1857 when James S. Battle
died, the mill passed to the third generation. William S.
Battle took over and with his son, James S. Battle, operated
the plant as Battle & Sons until 1878.
Soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, the mill engaged
in producing cloth for the Confederate Government. The plant
thus became a natural target and on July 20, 1863, a Union
Cavalry burned it down. The superintendent at that time, a
northerner and a Mason, persuaded the Cavalry officer to
spare the residence, now the plant's main office. The mill was
rebuilt in 1865 but was burned again by an incendiary on
November 10, 1869. It was rebuilt at once. The reconstruction
period proved too strenuous for private ownership and in 1878
a charter of incorporation was secured and a new organization
formed. New capital, expected in the reorganization, did not
materialize sufficiently and on September 2, 1883, William S.
Battle assigned the stock to his trustees, thus losing control.
The company was reorganized in 1885 and the trustees elect-ed
as secretary and financial head of the company Thomas H.
Battle, great-grandson of the founder. At that time James
H. Ruffin was elected superintendent continuing as such until
he retired in 1898. Then Thomas H. Battle took his place as
superintendent. Under his direction the mill expanded anc
improving working conditions. Among industrial firsts Rockj
Mount Mills established automatic sprinklers and electric lights
in 1889; automatic humidifiers in 1899; steam turbines in 1911;
long draft roving and spinning machines in 1932.
Thomas H. Battle continued as head of the mill until h<
retired in 1933 when his son, Hyman L. Battle, fifth generation
assumed charge. Present officers are Paul C. Collins, presi
dent; Kemp D. Battle, vice-president; Hyman L. Battle, treas
urer and manager; Ronald E. Stevens, assistant treasurer:
W. J. Laughridge, general superintendent, and Welford Price
secretary.
Rocky Mount Mills has been developed into a very efficien
cotton spinning mill and has established an enviable recon
in employee relations with John M. Scott, Jr., as personne
director. The plant operates normally on three eight-hou;
shifts, granting its employees six recognized holidays and om
week of vacation with pay. It employs about 625 workers iij
normal operations.
The modern Rocky Mount Mills now operates about 39,00<i
spindles producing carded cotton yarns ranging from 4:1
through 20s which go into a variety of products. Among thes<{
are automobile upholstery, lace curtains, tablecloths, electricaj
J
insulation and tape and webbing of any kinds. Its only fin[
ished product is Riverside tobacco twine.
So, with its 134 years of operation on one site and largel;]
by one family, the Rocky Mount Mills is now one of the splendi<|
and larger cotton spinning plants in North Carolina.
N. C. TEXTILE FOUNDATION ADDED
OVER $1,000,000 FOR TEACH I Ni
Formation of the Nqrth Carolina Textile Foundation ii
December, 1942, provided "the greatest stimulus for textil
education in the United States", Dean Malcolm E. Campbell
of the Textile School of North Carolina State College, told :
meeting of State Coljege's Development Council October 1.
Dean Campbell said the establishment of the Textile Four
dation was a boon to textile education, not only in the Unitei
States, but in qther countries of the world.
Since its creation, the Foundation has received contribu
tions in excess of $1,000,000. The Textile Foundation has use<
income from the contributions to supplement the State salar;
scale in retaining and attracting top-ranking authorities fo
research and teaching duties in the State College School o
Textiles, Dean Campbell said.
Summer-fall, 1952 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 93
COTTON TEXTILES, LONG IMPORTANT, JOINED BY MAN-MADE FIBERS:
Cannon Mills, Kannapolis, World's Largest Towel Producer
Cannon Mills Co., Kannapolis, largest towel manu-facturer
in the world and largest employer of labor
in North Carolina, lays claims to numbers of unique
features. Among them the town of Kannapolis is
the largest unincorporated town in the world and
is located on property owned by the mill. Kannapolis
(Greek for "loom city") boasts of one of the finest
school systems in the State, contains an attractive
ake near its center and contains all the modern
conveniences of a city without the imposition of a
city tax.
North Carolina's largest industry had its begin-ling
in 1887 when James W. Cannon started a small
3lant in Concord producing cotton yarns. A short
;ime afterwards he also began weaving a grade of
cloth known as Cannon cloth which became a house-lold
word and was used extensively throughout the
South in making women's and children's clothing.
Although Cannon cloth was extensively used, the
leld was limited and Mr. Cannon worked out an idea
ind began the production of cotton hand towels in
L898. This was the first towel plant in the South
ind the demand grew for this popular household
irticle until the Cannon towel took its place along
side the Cannon cloth in popularity.
Then in 1905 Mr. Cannon bought a 600 acre tract
)f land seven miles north of his original plant at
Concord in the northern end of Cabarrus County and
lear the Rowan County line. Here Mr. Cannon set
ibout building the first unit of widespread Cannon
Mills in Kannapolis. While the mill was being con-structed,
he also built several comfortable homes to
)e used by employees when the mill was completed.
Within a few months, the first unit of the world's
argest towel mill was in operation and the town of
kannapolis was started. Many of the workers em-ployed
in the construction of the mill remained after
Principal plants of Cannon Mills Co. at Kannapolis, largest
employer of labor in North Carolina with part of the
model village in front and rural homes in rear.
it was completed to work in it. In his relations with
his employees Mr. Cannon believed that good treat-ment
resulted in good products. He gave sites and
frequently contributed funds for the erection of
school and church buildings needed in the commun-ity.
He also built and gave to the community a
YMCA building now known as Cannon Memorial
which now has a membership of 10,000, the largest
in the South and one of the largest in the nation.
James W. Cannon was a firm believer in advertis-ing
and felt that all Cannon goods should bear the
Cannon name so his products would become well-known
and demanded by the consumers. Immediate-ly
after World War I Mr. Cannon planned one of the
most extensive programs of advertising, merchan-dising
and research that had ever been undertaken
in the South. Before this program was well under-way,
Mr. Cannon died in 1921.
Charles A. Cannon, his son, then only 19 years of
age, became head of the organization and on his
shoulders was placed the responsibility of carrying
out the program his father had planned. This he
did with such force and effectiveness that it brought
results far beyond those his father had ever dreamed
of. Young Charles Cannon developed a method of
sewing Cannon labels on every towel produced, thus
making the Cannon name and Cannon products
known throughout the nation. It was young Charles
Cannon who first developed towel styling and to meet
the modern tendencies for brighter homes, Mr. Can-non
developed towels in pastel shades. In 1928 he
introduced "towel ensembles" ; that is, matching sets,
including bath and face towels, bath mats and wash
cloths, and in the next year he held the first towel
style show ever conducted. In 1934 Mr. Cannon
startled the retail trade as well as housekeepers by
introducing Cannon sheets wrapped in cellophane to
keep them laundry fresh, and since that time Cannon
sheets have been taking their place along side the
already widely accepted Cannon towels.
In all Cannon products may be
found the highest grade of cotton
with the longest fibers. In each
step from cotton to cloth the pro-cesses
are carried on by highly
trained workers and through the
most modern machinery. Simply
stated these processes include
the operations of cotton picking,
carding, drawing, roving, spin-ning,
weaving, bleaching, cut-ting
and hemming, inspecting,
folding, packing, wrapping and
shipping. In the production of
towels a special type of weaving
is followed to produce the desir-ed
thickness and fluff for the
water thirsty fabrics.
In the production of percale
sheets the cotton fiber is blended
600 times and processed through
combers to eliminate short fibers
PAGE 94 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-Fall, 1952
and impurities. Weaving is done on wide looms and
after thorough inspection and bleaching, the fabric is
torn for proper lengths. The sheets are then carried
through the hemming and labeling process, then
ironed, folded and wrapped for packing and ship-ping.
In addition to Cannon towels and Cannon
sheets, both percale and muslin, Cannon blankets
and Cannon stockings have been added to the other
popular Cannon products.
Cannon Mills Co. seems just as interested in pro-viding
modern conveniences and attractive surround-ings
for its employees as it is in producing quality
products. The corporation in 1937 launched a vast
construction program in the business district of Kan-napolis
which is still in progress. Millions of dollars
are being spent in producing a town in which all
buildings in the business district follow one general
architectural theme in Williamsburg Colonial. Sev-eral
of its streets are 130 feet wide, allowing parking
oh both sides and in the center area. Homes for
members of the Cannon industrial family are en-tirely
modern, convenient and attractive.
The public school system of Kannapolis, operated
by a school board, is one of the most progressing in
the entire State. Sites for many of the buildings
were donated by the Cannon Mills Co. and heavy con-tributions
have been made by Mr. Cannon for build-ings,
supplementary salaries and other educational
requirements. In addition to the J. W. Cannon High
School, the system next year will have what will be
known as the A. L. Brown High School and seven
elementary schools for white children in addition to
the George W. C