Two Hundred Years of Textile Factories in the U.S. South

Abstract

During the 1800s, many textile manufacturers moved to the U.S. South for economic and geographic reasons, fueling economic growth in the South. Although extensive documentation exists about textile factories in the northeast, limited documentation was found about the thousands of textile factories built in the South. This study examined over 150 textile mills and plants (i.e., factories) in two U.S. states. The qualitative study was made with on-site photographic evidence, historical documents, and other primary and secondary sources. An examination resulted in five groups of factories from 1815 to 2015. The factory architecture was observed as reflective of technological and geographic effects. For example, the factory style from 1950 to 1969 was that of low rambling structures, reflecting environmental and economic conditions of the South, and the period’s manufacturing technology. This study provides an outline for documenting these historic structures and a foundation for examining their characteristics and associated technologies.