Rocky Mount Mills
Nash County, Nash County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Rocky Mount Mills. Second cotton mill in State. Building begun, 1818. Federals burned, 1863. Soon rebuilt.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Begun in 1818 on the falls of the Tar River, Rocky Mount Mills was the second cotton mill established in North Carolina, harnessing water power to spin the region's cotton. Union forces burned the mill in 1863 during the Civil War, but it was quickly rebuilt and returned to production. The mill anchored one of the state's earliest industrial communities.
Why it matters
Rocky Mount Mills marks North Carolina's early step into the textile industry that would come to dominate the Southern economy for generations.
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Themes & tags
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