WHAT INDUSTRY HAS DONE IN THE
DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS OF
CHATHAM COUNTY
SINCE we have started writing
up these industrial and agricul¬
tural surveys of various coun¬
ties in North Carolina (this makes
the 20th of this series) we don't mind
admitting that we’ve frequently been
surprised to discover the extent and
scope of industry in some of these
counties.
Take Chatham, for example.
The two largest towns in the county
are Siler City and l’ittsboro. Siler
City has a population of approximate¬
ly 2,500: Pittsboro is the county seat
and has a population of around 1,000.
Other smaller communities within
the borders of the county are Bonlee,
Gulf, Bynum, Goldston, Moncure,
Merry Oaks and Mt. Vernon Springs.
They're small villages, with popula¬
tions running from 75 to about 350.
So off hand you'd naturally say that
Chatham County couldn't he much of
an industrial center, but in that as¬
sumption you would be very much
mistaken.
Siler City is one of the most decep¬
tive towns in the state. In driving
through it on U. S. 6J, you don’t pass
through the main business section of
the town, so vou don't sec the center of
the retail district. Vou get the idea
that the place probably has a popula¬
tion of SOI) or 900, instead of the
2,500 which the census gives it.
Neither do you see many of the at¬
tractive homes, which are located off
the highway. Nor do you see the mills
and factories, with the exception of
one or two.
But if you don’t think that .Siler
City has more than its share of
manufacturing enterprises, just take
a look at this list:
The Siler City Mills, Inc., of which
L. L. Wren is the head. They have
approximately 100 employees and
were established in 1910. They manu¬
facture flour, corn meal and mixed
feed for poultry, hogs and cattle.
Siler City Hosiery Mills, a branch
of Mock, Judson tc Voehriugcr, of
Greensboro. They employ approxi¬
mately GO people at the present time.
Hadley - Peoples Manufacturing
Company, established in 1895; J. C.
Spence Brothers
and
Siler City Crosstie Co.
Siler City, North Carolina
We «re proud to be identified with the
industrial Progress made and
being made bg
CHATHAM CO UNITY
Gregson, manager. Manufacturers of
cotton yarn. Approximately 300
men and women are employed.
Williams & Brower, Inc., manu¬
facturers of chairs. They employ from
75 to 100 people. Russell Williams is
head of the plant.
Thomas Manufacturing Company,
of which Ben Spence is manager.
They also manufacture chairs.
Wrenn Brothers, manufacturers of
cedar and other varieties of lumber.
The Oval Oak Manufacturing
Company, manufacturers of wash¬
boards. Several years ago they were
said to bo the largest makers of wash¬
boards in the world, but we don’t
know whether that statement still
bolds good or not. They employ
around 30 people. Randolph Lane is
manager.
The Rowland II. Thomas Lumber
Mill, manufacturers of lumber.
The Farm Service Chicken Hatch¬
ery, of which II. L. Paschal is the
head. And another chicken hatchery:
The North State, under the manage¬
ment of
В.
M. Hancock. Also a poultry
dressing plant — the Siler City Poul-
X Exchange — operated by J. B.
od and
В.
M. Hancock.
Spence Brothers Lumber Company,
who also operate The Siler City
C'rosstie Co.
“Home was brought much closer
to me by the fact that one of tho
doctors here was from Wake Forest
and the chairs were made in Siler
City.”
This incident, related by a young
Siler City man, now an army fighter
pilot who had been temporarily hos¬
pitalized in Egypt, is illustrative of
the world-wide distribution which has
come to the products of a Chatham
County manufacturing concern— the
High Point Bending & Chair Com¬
pany, of Siler City.
Engaged for the past several years
in the manufacture, for the most part,
of chairs for special Government or¬
der, this concern which has been man¬
ufacturing chairs for nearly half a
century has seen its products shipped
to the far corners of the earth— with
hardly a United Nations military es¬
tablishment of any description being
