About the Mill
A word about the mill itself: It is built on the Second Broad River and the “falls” afford most of the power necessary to run the machinery, the balance being generated on the ground. The mill is built to conform to the sloping hillside on which it is built, a part of
the building being four stories in height, the balance being three and two stories. To be exact, 1600 horsepower is developed from the stream and 1200 horsepower from steam. The company grinds its own indigo and has all the equipment necessary for turning out finished staple and fancy ginghams on the ground. The mill uses 7500 bales of cotton per year. The output of the company is sold through the Cone Export and Commission Company of Greensboro and New York. The company still operates under the original capitalization, which was $250,000, although the property is worth two and one half times this amount today, or more. The mill is of standard equipment with safety and sanitary facilities.
R.R. Haynes was president of the corporation. His son, Charles H. Haynes, is vice-president and treasurer; Z.O. Jenkins is secretary and W.L. Packard is superintendent, having held this responsible position for ten years.
The plant is equipped with 41,000 spindles and 1500 looms. Seventy thousand yards of staple and fancy ginghams are turned out daily.
Nine hundred workers are employed in the plant. At least 60% of this number have been with the company for 10 years.
The mill was built in 1902, and it is a strictly North Carolina proposition in every sense of the word. Every overseer and man of important position in this plant has been brought up from the ranks.
The community has regular cleanup days twice a year, generally in the Spring and in the Fall. Every family in the village takes a lively interest in cleaning premises of debris and trash of all kinds. Last summer on cleanup day, 23 wagons were employed in moving trash. The best things about these regular cleanup days is that their spirit lives throughout the year, and the visitor invariably notes quickly the spotless appearance of the whole town.
One of the gala events of last Summer was the baby show. There were entered in this show 120 fine babies. The prize winner whose picture appears on this page is the daughter of parents who have been steadily engaged in mill work since childhood. The winner's name is little Miss Inez Fisher, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Fisher.
Copyright © 2008 The Cliffside Historical Society
