What did textile mill owners in south carolina do to attract workers. The Textile Industry in North Carolina: A History.

What did textile mill owners in south carolina do to attract workers. Some New England manufacturers saw potential for factory operations along the backcountry rivers and set up a handful of small mills there after 1814. J. Exploitative working conditions in the South led to one of the largest labor strikes in U. Beginning in the 1920s, low pay, long hours, and dangerous working conditions led textile workers to organize into labor unions, which helped them negotiate for changes. Manufacturing began in the opening room, where workers removed the ties and bagging from bales of raw cotton. South Carolina had a ready supply of raw materials. The lives of the mill workers and the history of South Carolina textile mills during this era remain a point of curiosity, almost as much as the lives of our ancestors who lived through the Great Feb 6, 2007 · The first edition of the study, "A History of Mississippi Cotton Mills and Mill Villages," was completed in 1998 after several years of research and became available to Mississippi public libraries along with the Department of Archives and History in Jackson. By 1840, the factories in Lowell employed at some estimates more than 8,000 textile workers, commonly known as mill girls or factory girls. Workers called this the “stretch-out,” and fought back. To ease concerns, the factories required that their women workers live in company-owned dormitories and follow a strict code of Simon's study begins with two thoughtful questions: what did textile workers in South Carolina reveal about themselves when they engaged in electoral politics and why, though they constituted a very substantial block of voters, did these workers get so little from electoral politics? Simon has obviously taken a different tact from that of previous Apr 2, 2025 · When Amanda Fox arrived in Lowell, Massachusetts, sometime in the 1840s, she joined a female workforce in what was then the center of the American textile industry. workers. They paid high salaries and shortened work hours. Employment contracts were signed with entire families, rather than with individuals, and mill villages were central to retain employees. This is particularly true of cotton mill work. 1. What did Lowell do to attract farm girls to work in his factories? He was going to provide them with boarding houses, food, and decent wages. Apr 29, 1999 · Beginning in 1898, the National Union of Textile Workers began working to organize South Carolina plants, claiming textile profits were soaring but worker's paychecks were lagging behind What did textile mill owners in SC do to attract workers to work in the mills? They established a clean safe working environment. The image of a South Carolina mill village has frayed over the years, but former workers like him readily share their war stories. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like What new industries began to thrive in South Carolina during the 19th century?, What led to the rise of the textile industry in South Carolina?, What did textile mill owners in South Carolina do to attract workers? and more. But the Palmetto State still has upwards of 200 locations that the Jun 1, 2017 · How Textile Mills Worked. Aug 7, 2024 · South Carolina has largely shed its textile label, remaking itself into a state known for automotive and aerospace manufacturing. An early movement of women textile mill workers began in the 1830s in Lowell, Massachusetts. Jun 24, 2020 · In the early 1900s, to work in a textile mill, was to insulate oneself from Black people and regain the false feeling of superiority that had sustained poor, uneducated, non-land-owning whites during slavery. This study demonstrates the unique features of McKinney’s textile mill and its similarities to other mills in Texas and in the southeast. and more. Though mill owners initially implemented baseball with an intent of occupying their impoverished workers, over time, baseball Mar 1, 2012 · The mill owners in Lowell, Massachusetts, understood that the general public was uncomfortable with the idea of single women living away from their homes and working for a wage. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like What did textile mill owners do to keep workers from leaving their boring jobs?, What did textile mill owners do to attract families to their mill?, Samuel Slater started this system of hiring families and dividing factory work into simple tasks. Mills built in the South were closer to the cotton fields and did not need to be heated in winter. Integrated cotton mills were "designed to move cotton through a precise series of production processes that separated, straightened, and twisted cotton fibers, combined them into yarn, then wove the yarn into cloth. What’s happening in two such communities – Drayton in Spartanburg County and Piedmont in Greenville County – demonstrates how Jan 21, 2024 · Where Textile Mills Thrived, Remnants Battle for Survival Apparel makers in the Carolinas say trade policy must change because of a boom in tariff-free shipments to U. al. Despite being defeated, it is a shining example of workers’ capacity for sacrifice and self-organization. Jun 8, 2016 · The establishment of the Pelzer Manufacturing Company’s mill on the Saluda River in Anderson County in the early 1880s marked the beginning of the Piedmont mill village boom. WALKING OUT ne by B. It includes an introduction to the long history of cotton textile manufacturing dating back at least 8000 years, reviews the first Feb 3, 2023 · For decades, abandoned textile mills have stood as proud but derelict reminders of South Carolina’s manufacturing history; however, recent redevelopment trends are bringing new life to communities whose vitality had waned with the closing of those mills. 3. These employees would not rapidly disappear should the volatile textile market call for production cut- backs. , Volume 26, Number 1 (Fall 1986), Published for the Tar Heel Junior Historian On the other hand, in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi the individual mill owner plays a very important part in connection with the common-school systems. But the Palmetto State still has upwards of 200 locations that the state’s Commerce Department categorizes as textile manufacturing facilities. ” Throughout the 20th century, larger economic and political forces changed the industry and its people. He reasoned that textiles would attract other supporting industries and all would rise as a result. Cotton mills were built along rivers for their hydropower, usually in rural areas (Glass 14). consumers from foreign Apr 12, 2025 · The Upstate region of South Carolina was saved by foreign companies after the fall of its textile industry. How Textile Mills Worked The Experiences of Mill Workers Life in the Mill Villages How Textile Mills Worked Integrated cotton mills were "designed to move cotton through a precise series of production processes that separated, straightened, and twisted cotton fibers, combined them into yarn, then wove the yarn into cloth. 4. Many hailed from farms or small rural villages, where economic opportunity was often lim ited to domestic service, family farm work, or poorly paid teaching jobs. Raleigh: Division of Archives and History, NC Dept. ) United States textile workers' strike of 1934The United States textile workers' strike of 1934, colloquially known later as The Uprising of '34[4][2][1] was the largest textile strike in the labor history of the United States, involving 400,000 textile workers from New England, the Mid-Atlantic states and the U. The mill and the textile industry needed the mill class, a steady supply of low-paid workers, to form the core of the mill work force. Between 1880 and 1910, about one-fourth of all cotton mill workers in the South were below the age of sixteen. (See the National Register of Historic Places Evaluation for Brandon Mill to learn more about the strike and economic conditions of the mills. Most of these workers Jul 7, 2016 · Textile mill owner, entrepreneur. Summary The rise of the southern textile industry in the early 1900s shifted the center of American textile production from the northeast to the Piedmont and created a new class of southern industrial workers: the “cotton mill people. Here's what you need to know: Mills provided libraries, classes, and study groups for workers Young women ("mill girls") gained independence and education Mill work improve Aug 9, 2010 · The textile industry was the dominant industry in South Carolina for many years, but it became so successful that Greenville was even known as the "Textile Capital of the World. Throughout the South, low wages and good access to electricity had led companies to build a large number of factories (or mills) that made yarn, wove fabric, and spun cotton. He grew up working on his father’s farm in Woodville, […] Dec 11, 2024 · The Waltham-Lowell System’s vertical-integrated textile mills, power looms, and “mill girls” sparked America’s Industrial Revolution and shaped labor. "2 (Well over half the slaves employed in various southern industries were owned by the enterprise they worked Jan 19, 2025 · The neighboring 1810 Wilkinson Mill had a machine shop on the first floor that was used to build machinery for mills in the Blackstone River Valley. They set up villages to provide housing, schools , stores and baseball teams for workers Show More 62 Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like What new industries began to thrive in South Carolina during the 19th century?, . Twenty-one illustrated exhibit panels tell the history of the textile industry in our state. Children grew up in homes regulated by the mills' schedule. 12 of community, regardless of time or place. 11 Under the slogan "Bring the Mills to the Cotton!" North Carolina emerged as the South's leading textile producer by the 1920s. Oct 24, 2022 · The South was the heart of the textile industry in America during most of the last century. These villages became self-contained and eventually established a community all their own. Although the company store sold food and necessary Tar heel junior historian [1986 : fall, v. More and more factories were built in the South. Discover how the boom of the industry led to long hours, low pay, and dangerous conditions. Manufacturing began in the opening room, where workers removed the Jan 14, 2025 · “M” is for Mill villages. We were a group of labor, social justice, civil rights, and public health activists who were committed to creating long-term social change and workplace justice in a region steeped in an inward-looking racist and reactionary approach to . Now, tariffs pose another round of uncertainty. 5. May 29, 2019 · The South's mill owners not only benefited from cheap labor, they also entered the textile industry at a time of unprecedented technological advancement. S. Today mill studies of southern mills have found only scattered textile factories with a preponderance of male employees, but in Texas this was the norm. They gave bonuses to workers of all ages. The fortunes of North Carolina’s textile industry illustrate how industries can grow and shrink. The heaviest concentration of textile mills was in North Carolina. According to the caption by Hine, John Ghent had been working a year when he was photographed. Southern states, lasting twenty-two days. 26 : no. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Wilkinson Mill’s owners trained apprentices, who were integral in making and inventing machines for the exploding textile industry. The mill villages declined many reasons Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like How did the division of labor increase output, and what was its impact on workers?, What were the advantages and strategies of British and American textile manufacturers?, How did textile mills recruit and use labor? What was the general response to the Lowell method, by worker and by observer? (Francis Cabot Lowell) (The Waltham Apr 7, 2025 · Many previous textile mills in South Carolina are now home to parks where you can explore their history, as well as enjoy some time outdoors. Images in this collection were taken from the M. The job actions they launched spread to New England and the Mid-Atlantic states and became one of the biggest industrial strikes in U. "Many southern textile mills employed either slave labor exclusively or combined both bondsmen and free workers in the same mill, contra- dicting the myth that southern textile manufacturing was the sole domain of native poor whites. Here, he emphasizes a Dec 29, 2014 · In South Carolina, child labor was especially egregious in the early 1900s, both in textile mills all over the state, and in fish canneries near Charleston. This set uses photographs, newspaper clippings, and propaganda materials to build the story of one of North Carolina’s most famous (p. About 8,000 workers labored under terrible conditions; 13-hour days were the norm, and child labor was common. textile workers took advantage of new legislation and joined unions in an industry that had been facing economic hardship even before the Great Depression. Textiles were produced on the second and third floors. Few villages or mills remain today, as local redevelopment has begun to erase physical reminders of Alabama's considerable textile legacy. In September, 1934 the General Textile Strike grew to the largest labor strike in American history. The textile industry was a major part of North Carolina’s economy in the 20th century. The mill owners incorporated the most modern machines into their factories which allowed them to increase production and cut labor costs. Aug 9, 2010 · The Graniteville Mill, built by William Gregg (see William Gregg) in 1846, was one of the first cotton textile mills in the South, and laid the basis for the expansion of South Carolina's textile Oct 5, 2007 · At Crown Mills in Dalton, managers requested that the government excuse some of their workers from the draft, and mill owners across Georgia, aware of competition among plants, offered higher wages and better homes to attract workers to their factories. Sponsored by the Self Family Foundation of Greenwood, this exhibition was designed and fabricated by the South Carolina State Museum. Because of the dust and dirt and the ever For many years, North Carolina was a leading textile-making state, specializing in cotton. Race and gender in the workplace in cotton textile mills Mitchell continues his discussion about his 1915/1916 research trip throughout the South. Sep 22, 2024 · SC tax incentives for former textile mills "The state of South Carolina realized that something had to happen because all these towns, Rock Hill included, were losing industry," Tuttle said. Technological innovations, wars, and the Apr 14, 2012 · Mill life provides inspiration. Woodside was born in Greenville County on May 9, 1864, the son of John Lawrence Woodside, a prominent landowner, and Ellen Permelia Charles. Why did the textile mills close? By 1912 Jun 28, 2016 · The Textile Workers Organizing Committee (TWOC) was formed as part of the attempt by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) to use the provisions of the 1935 National Labor Relations Act to organize all the mass production industries in America. Lowenstein collection, the Neil Campbell collection, the Dill Family “Treated Like Slaves”: Textile Workers Write to Washington in the 1930s and 1940s The 1934 textile strike failed to bring the transformation in work conditions and social relations that the strikers had hoped to win and was widely considered a devastating defeat for Labor. It is still possible in the South to find three generations of a family living in the same area, working over half a century in the same industry. Aug 1, 2016 · By 1929 South Carolina workers began organizing to protest the effects of the stretch-out. Cotton Mill People: Work, Community, and Protest in the Textile South, 1880-1940. In the early 20th century, more than 40 percent of the state’s farmland produced cotton; and, by the 1930s, the states of North and South Carolina were home to the nation’s two largest textile industries. Beginning in the 1920s, mill owners, pinched by increased competition, raised workers’ machine loads without increasing their pay. Textile workers circled the Chiquola Mill in protest of low In the 1980s, North Charlotte was almost forgotten. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Why do you think the mills preferred to hire children, Where were most of the mills in SC located?, Why were most of the mills in SC in the upcountry? and more. of Cultural Resources, 1992 (history that addresses the social changes that accompanied the rise of the textile industry). " (p. Martha Simpson, for May 17, 2018 · South Carolina’s history as a textiles powerhouse is well-documented. In documenting the establishment of the cotton textile industry in the South during the post-Civil War years, Mitchell was interested in the dynamics between workers in the workplace and between workers and their employers. It was a level of independence that was unprecedented for women in American history. The mills employed not only the textile workers who operated the machinery but also machine part makers and dam builders. And, because the textile industry has traditionally employed great numbers of women, families exist in which mother, daughter and granddaughter have all worked in one area's mills. East of the mills, look-alike rows of workers' cottages line straight streets named for dimly-remembered mills, mill owners, and textile processes: Mercury Street, Holt May 22, 2023 · Despite the committee’s support, however, mill workers and owners reached an agreement that did little to support the workers. Sep 3, 2024 · Textile mills in 19th century America weren't just factories - they became unexpected centers of education and social change, especially for women. The most famous of these company towns was Lowell, Massachusetts. Half a dozen former cotton mills and textile-related factories are strung like beads along the tracks of the Southern Railway and the old Norfolk and Southern mainline. Roaring Twenties Quiz Review 5. history. Factors such as geography, competition, changing tastes, and changing technology have all contributed to the industry’s ups and downs. Though the strike was unsuccessful, it helped pave the way for stronger laws to protect workers seeking to join unions. As of 1950, approximately 54,000 employees worked in 72 mills. Mill owners, by coddling and spoiling their white employees and keeping what few Black people they encountered in demeaning positions at the mills, paid white workers this intangible wage Apr 17, 2024 · By 1900, Alabama's textile industry employed nearly 6,000 workers and that number more than doubled by 1920. Beginning at Ware Shoals in March 1929–led mostly by lifelong mill hands who appealed to the supposed paternalism of the mill owners–a wave of strikes swept South Carolina textile mills. 1], North Carolina, United States, Tarheel junior historian, Tarheel historian, North Carolina Museum of History, Users are responsible for determining the legal status of and securing any permissions necessary to distribute, reproduce, or make other use of this item. The story begins with a case of industrial espionage! England did not allow textile workers to immigrate to other countries, but Samuel Slater, an English mill worker The Boston Associates’ mills, which each employed hundreds of workers, were located in company towns, where the factories and worker housing were owned by a single company. In Jun 27, 2010 · In the decades following the Civil War, the textile industry thrust the South into a period of rapid industrialization. Davis* In the 1920s, North Carolina ranked as the largest producer of textiles in the United States. ) Click on image to enlarge. Early textile entrepreneurs built not only factories but frequently entire villages. The mill was the largest and most modern industrial building of its time. In the aftermath of the disastrous General Textile Strike of 1934, the United Textile Workers […] The Carolina Textile Mills Collection provides photographs, maps, blueprints, ephemera, letters, guidebooks and more documenting textile mill history in Upstate South Carolina from various textile mill related collections held by the Clemson University Special Collections unit. Skilled or at least experienced work- ers, however, were not abundant in the South and this relative scarcity of experienced workers may explain the course of the development of the in- dustry in the South. (A historical marker located near Burlington in Alamance County, North Carolina. May 17, 2016 · The General Textile Strike in South Carolina sprang out of old grievances and fresh hopes. For years mill people worked long hours for low wages in lint-filled factories. As Thomas Cartledge explains in his Recollections: Life in South Carolina Mill Villages, published in 2019, that the “textile mills easily exploited the abundant supply of relatively low-wage labor as workers drifted from agriculture to industry”. history --- one that suffered a bitter defeat. As a merchant, manufacturer, banker, and real estate developer, Woodside personified South Carolina’s transformation to a modern economy. Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd et. Which of the following was a factor causing the rise in textile mills in South Carolina during the post Reconstruction period? South Carolina had a ready supply of highly educated workers. These "operatives"—so-called because they operated the looms and other machinery—were primarily women and children from farming backgrounds. Thousands of Tar Heels worked in mills, especially in the Piedmont region. . WYFF 4’s latest special Chronicle: Remaking the Mills takes a closer look at the history of the mill The General Textile Strike of 1934 swept across the nation in the height of the Great Depression straining relations between workers, management, and mill owners. They are places where some residents answer the door holding shotguns, but welcome strangers interested in talking about the old mills. North Carolina has many rivers, most of which are not Jun 8, 2016 · The textile industry was the most significant early industry to take root in the upcountry and Piedmont regions of South Carolina. " Greenville became so Mills Mill was a textile mill in Greenville, South Carolina (1897–1978). What day of the week did Lowell girl' s get off? Jun 8, 2016 · In South Carolina the New Deal brought three R’s: recovery for farmers, bankers, textile mill owners, and small businessmen; relief for the unemployed and destitute; and reform in labor-management relations, banking, sale of securities, and retirement. South Carolina had an abundant supply of phosphates. It included two houses for workers and their families, the owner's house, the company store, and the Slatersville Mill. 332) The governor of South Carolina mobilized the National Guard, as did the governors of North Carolina and Georgia. In the Piedmont, textile mill workers played baseball, first as a means of filling their free time, but by the 1920s, as part of semi-professional competitive textile leagues. Jun 28, 2016 · With national markets open to them, and outside technology and expertise available to substitute for local inadequacies of skill and experience, South Carolina mill men could exploit their major advantage over their northeastern competitors: low labor costs. His strategy: first concentrate on making coarse cloth and take that business away from the north, then gradually replace the coarse with finer goods and more intricate fabrics. Jul 25, 2025 · Lewis Parker was the owner and manager of several textile mills, and he testified before the Congressional Committee on Labor about why his mills used children as workers. In the 21st century, it was converted into loft-style condominia. By 1900, textile mills were a major sector of North Carolina's economy, and a majority of the workers lived in mill villages Whereas, owners of the mills often started the leagues because the new game of baseball, already a passion among mill workers, provided an atmosphere to teach respect for authority, self-control, discipline, and helped to increase the morale of the employees of the mill. This gave the owners and their agents control over their workers. 329) Mill owners across the South responded to the strike by combining "armed self-defense with calls for military intervention. Load up the kids and check out these historic textile mill sites for today’s history lesson and get some sun while you’re at it! It’s so much more fun than learning history in a textbook, right? Jul 13, 2023 · The 1934 Textile Mill Strike was a watershed moment in the American class struggle. Lowell's mills promised much more: monthly cash wages and comfortable room and board in corporation board inghouses. It is not possible for a man who has been working on a farm who is an adult—after the age of 21 years, for instance—to become a skilled employee in a cotton mill. The Textile Industry in North Carolina: A History. But she didn’t work in the factories as one of the famed “mill girls. Sep 4, 2013 · Jeremy Brecher's history of the largely unsuccessful nationwide strike of textile workers during the great depression, which the union nevertheless declared a victory. Labor strife continued in Philadelphia’s textile industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as mill owners periodically cut wages or work hours in response to changing economic conditions and workers responded with strikes and other actions. Aug 31, 2013 · In 1934, thousands of workers in Southern textile mills walked off the job seeking better pay and working conditions. S. To increase production, draw new workers to the mills, and promote a sense of unity among the workers, many mill owners began to build villages around the mills. Mar 18, 2025 · Working-class women and gender-oppressed people have a long, proud history of struggle. Jan 7, 2020 · In order to attract and retain critically needed labor, mill owners provided affordable housing by building villages in which workers and their families could live and from which workers could easily reach the mills. . As water power gave way to steam and then electricity, the textile industry in the United States slowly migrated from New England to the South from the 1870s to the 1930s. 0 (1 review) How did South Carolina attempt to attract tourist to the state? (Choose 3 that Apply) Apr 18, 2021 · In the 1930s, hundreds of thousands of U. The story and its lessons deserve to be told. Creation of new jobs Although textile mills promoted industrial development in South Carolina, they also created new problems. Learn about the history of South Carolina textile mills and the impact they had on workers in the early 1900s. 1900 the South had an abundance of unskilled workers willing to enter the mills at the prevailing wage rates. Early textile entrepreneurs built not only factories but frequently also entire villages, such as Piedmont in Greenville County, Clifton and Pacolet in Spartanburg County, and Graniteville and […] 7 Critics opposed child labor and mill owners were often of a divided mind on the subject, but children remained an integral part of the labor force. ” She was a boarding-house keeper, one of dozens of women whose domestic work—performed on an industrial scale—helped make Lowell a “model Why has the textile industry in South Carolina seen a decline in recent years? Cheaper labor overseas, technology and automation, international trade agreements and other conditions consistent with modernization, wages, education and economic diversification led to the demise of the textile industry in South Carolina from the 1970s through the 2000s. After the Civil War, the South did not want to rely upon the North for all their textile needs despite the North being the major textile manufacturer at that time. Feb 21, 2025 · IT MAY HAVE BEEN US who killed the textile industry, at least according to a number of the cotton mill owners who operated across the South in the 1970s. Dec 14, 2022 · South Carolina cotton mills sprang up in the mid-to-late 1800s and were a leading industry in South Carolina well into the depression era when the price of cotton plummeted and many mills went under. The "Mill Girls" Most of Lowell's textile workers in the early to mid-1800s were young, sin gle Yankee women. The North Carolina Business History and Piedmont Industrialization interview series traces the evolution of North Carolina's economy since World War II, by examining the transformation of the state's traditional industries (agriculture, tobacco manufacturing, furniture, textiles, insurance) and the emergence of "new" industries (banking and Aug 20, 2012 · Eyes on North Carolina Textile workers built unions, led major strikes and fought racism starting in the 1920s in the South’s largest industry. Slatersville, 2. Honea Path, South Carolina marked a violent nadir of the ongoing strikes. The end of slavery crippled plantation agriculture, and the region's investors began to work toward a "New South" based instead on industrial development. What led to the rise of the textile industry in South Carolina?, What did textile mill owners in South Carolina do to attract workers? and more. An important window into the persistence of poor conditions in the mills is the letters that the mill workers (both Aug 20, 2014 · At the Depression's height, 4,000+ textile mill workers in Huntsville walked off the job, beginning a strike that eventually spread to Maine. xcjvdk nekfun ueou zxdnlrf gmsclmc aevzpjz iytb eutzi rcrz dbp