History on display
“Life with the Mills: The Canton Cotton Mills”
through Sept. 14
Cherokee County Historical Society, 100 North Street, Suite 140, Canton
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturdays
Free admission
There’s some debate over whether or not the name of Cherokee County’s leading city came from a desire to be a silk-producing center, a la Canton in China. But one thing is certain and well-documented: Canton did have a long and prosperous run as a cotton producer. For years, the county seat was home to two bustling mills and a village that housed and supported workers.
“Newcomers to the areas are often surprised to learn about the mills,” said Stefanie Joyner, executive director of the Cherokee County Historical Society. “It’s a surprise to realize that the Canton Mill Loft apartments on Riverstone Parkway were actually long-running mills.”
The refurbished lofts project that opened in 1999 is a visible reminder of the city’s glory days as a cotton production center. The first mill was opened in 1899 by R.T. Jones, a leading citizen and ancestor of golf great Bobby Jones. A second mill opened in 1924, and from then through the 1960s, workers flocked to Canton from nearby cities to put in long shifts in hot, high-ceilinged rooms where the air was flocked with lint specks. In later years, their labor turned raw cotton into scrubbed denim.
For many of Canton’s residents, the mill was more than a place to earn a paycheck.
“The mill village had a school and its own police department,” said Joyner. “Canton was very much a mill town. The workers got credit at the local merchants’ shops. Everyone set their clocks by the mills’ whistles. Kids would take lunch to their parents working there. Whole families worked there and identified with the mills.”
In the 1960s, the mill village’s small, 4-room cottages were sold for $4,000, and mill workers were given the first options to become owners. Today, some of those houses still dot the city’s hillsides. The first mill at the edge of a railroad track is partially occupied by several small businesses. But the memories of the mills’ best days have been captured in an exhibit at Canton’s historic marble courthouse. It tells the story of the business through photos and artifacts. More memories are captured in the book “A Man, a Town and a Mill” that recounts the way Canton and its mills became intertwined.
Three years ago, a mill reunion was held, and Joyner said it wasn’t hard to find many of the former workers still living in the vicinity.
“About 70 people showed up with wonderful stories,” she said. “It reminded us that the mills are an important part of the local legacy.”
Each Saturday, we shine a spotlight on a local neighborhood, city or community. To suggest a place for us to visit, e-mail H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or call 770- 744-3042.
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