A Town Behind Every Hill
Carolinaclelpliia is Alamance's metropolis,
but it luckily is called Burlington; host of
small mill villages in county.
By PAUL PLEASANTS
This stale very narrowly missed hav¬
ing a Carolinadclphia. We got a Bur¬
lington instead, hut it was a close
light.
Howard White of the Burlington
Times-i\ews says that when the peo¬
ple of Company Shops, the original
name of our Alamance metropolis, be¬
came tired of their undistinguished
name, they decided to handle the
change in a democratic manner. So a
piece of paper was posted in a store,
and citizens were invited to make sug¬
gestions.
Whoever thought up this hazardous
stunt very soon was kieking himself in
the pants, because some pretty weird
names were suggested. Carolinadcl¬
phia had considerable support at a
mass meeting, and feeling ran so high
that finally a subcommittee was ap¬
pointed by the chairman. Mr. Erwin
Holt, to make a choice.
Howard White says quite flatly that
Mr. Holt packed this committee in fa¬
vor of Burlington, a name suggested by
Miss Katherine Scales, daughter of the
governor. If ever there was an excuse
for packing a committee, this must
have been it. At any rate, Mr. Erwin's
skulduggery resulted in the defeat of
Carolinadclphia and the triumph of
Burlington.
In the last ten years, Burlington in¬
creased its population 100 per cent to
24,560. jumping to I Ith place in N. C.
rank, and it would be idle to say any¬
one regrets it. At the same time. Bur¬
lington's leaders are not anxious to
maintain an extravagant rate of prog¬
ress.
"We want to catch up with our
growth." one of them explained last
month. "We don't ever want Burling¬
ton to be too big for its britches."
In the 10-year period, its industrial
employment also went up 80 per cent,
payrolls 220 per cent, building permits
215 per cent.
At the same time, the town has man¬
aged to avoid the appearance, at least,
of a booming community. New hous¬
ing facilities have kept pace with the
influx, and while employment is full,
it is not extraordinarily tight.
A civic improvement program (out¬
lined in another article) and private
expansion have helped the town solve
its growing pains.
Burlington (alt. 656 ft.) had its birth
in 1855. and was incorporated in
1866. Built around the shops of the
new North Carolina Railway, it first
was known as “Company Shops."
But before that — in 1853 —
Thomas M. Holt developed in a small
cotton mill nearby some goods known
as “Alamance Plaids." innocently
heralding the future of the commu¬
nity. When the railway shops were
moved to Spencer in 1896. the little
town was kept alive by — of all things
— the Burlington Coffin Company
(today its oldest industry) and by its
infant, but growing textile business.
Hosiery came later, but developed
so fast that one of the town's slogans
is "Hosiery Center of the South." To¬
day, the town makes almost every type
of textile and hose imaginable, as well
as other products, a diversity which
offers security against the ups and
downs of specialized business.
About 40 per cent of the industrial
employment is in hosiery. 35 per cent
in weaving (corduroy, dress material,
draperies, bedspreads, curtain material
and tricot), and 25 per cent in elec¬
tronics and other industries. The week¬
ly wage is relatively high.
The town's tobacco auction market
and a prospering farm back country
arc substantial factors in the retail
business, with retail sales totalling over
S44 million in 1951. The market
sells around $10 million in tobacco
each year.
The effective buying income pc'
capita in Burlington is the highest in
North Carolina — $1 .646. and the fam-
ly effective buying income, $5,828, is
third in the state.
Burlington is a town that gets things
done with a minimum of waste motion,
and the average Burlingtonian is proud
of the current well-being of the city.
Nothing stirs him more than curiosity
about the city school system, which,
under Dr. L. E. Spikes, has become a
model in North Carolina. The Wal¬
ter M. Williams High School, new $1,-
000.000 addition to this system, with
its 21st Century auditorium, and mod¬
ern stadium, is worth a lour. The city
has a 20 cent supplementary school
tax.
In addition, it has Burlington Busi-
Graham. growing hut still serene, is clustered around the courthouse. — (Photo
by Wilber Robertson.)
ь
THE STATE. MAY >6. 1953