Roanoke Doll Factory

1900-1925

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 2004

1. Roanoke Doll Factory, 1900-1925 Marker

Inscription. Ella Gannt Smith, artist, inventor, manufactured in this building the famous Roanoke Dolls. The dolls, completely handmade, featured a head molded of plaster of Paris enclosed in a tight cotton fabric cut and stuffed to resemble body, hands and legs. Facial features of each doll were hand-painted, no two being alike. At her death, April 2, 1932, Mrs. Smith held eleven patents. The factory, built by her husband, S. S. Smith, was later converted into an apartment house.

Erected by Randolph County Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is April 2, 1932.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 33° 9.066′ N, 85° 22.313′ W. Marker was in Roanoke, Alabama, in Randolph County. It was on Vaughn Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Roanoke AL 36274, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in East Alabama. It was also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it was in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: First Baptist Church (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Martin Theatre (approx. 0.2 miles away); Clark Funeral Home (approx. 0.6 miles away); Randolph County Training School

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(approx. one mile away); Lebanon Christian Church (approx. 2.9 miles away); Pottery Shops in Rock Mills / The Potters of Rock Mills (approx. 4½ miles away); Wehadkee Yarn Mills (approx. 4.8 miles away); Pottery-Making Families of Randolph County / Early Pottery Shops of Randolph County (approx. 4.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Roanoke.

More about this marker. Correct name is Ella Gaunt Smith.

Also see . . . Roanoke, Alabama, Home of the Ella Smith Doll. (Submitted on September 30, 2008, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.)

Additional keywords. Roanoke Indestructible Doll.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 22, 2002

2. Roanoke Doll Factory, 1900-1925 Marker

Doll Factory is now used as residential housing.

Roanoke Doll Factory image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, January 7, 2022

3. Roanoke Doll Factory

Credits. This page was last revised on January 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 24, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,938 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 24, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 3. submitted on January 11, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.