The Mill Village of Lockhart

The Mill Village of Lockhart. . , The town of Lockhart was founded with the establishment of the first Lockhart Mill, completed in 1894. A booming, turn-of-the-century textile industry led to swift growth at the mill and in the town, which had a bustling population of 1,400 by 1907. As a result of this growing population, the mill company constructed many support buildings and structures for use by mill workers or “operatives” and their families that many still fondly remembered today. Resources such as mill houses, a personnel office, schools, a clinic, a swimming pool, a company store called the Community Cash, and a pedestrian bridge crossing the mill race were important additions to the growing community of Lockhart during the twentieth century. While many vestiges of the once thriving mill town have vanished, some resources, such as its modest mill houses remain, relaying the history of Lockhart through a humble architecture. , By the early 1920s, the “newest” of Lockhart's mill houses were constructed on a knoll to the northeast that is still known as “New Hill” today. Many Lockhart homes were constructed to house two sets of mill families. Each family lived in one side of the house, with parents often sleeping alongside a central fireplace on the lower level and any children or dependent relatives resting in the small attic story. Restrooms were located on a back porch and were shared by the two mill families. Today, these homes house a single family. , For a century, the mill town grew and flourished with the industrial site. Until the late twentieth century, Lockhart Mills was the livelihood of many citizens of the small village. The community of Lockhart formed its own identity through its ties to the mill and through the interweaving lives of operatives and their families with one another. In the shadow of a lone smoke stack, the neighborly historic character of Lockhart continues to hold steady despite the shuttering and the subsequent razing of Lockhart Mills in 2002. , The houses along Canal Road, in the area referred to as “The Flat,” are the earliest of Lockhart's homes. The brick construction of these houses can be attributed to the apparent brick making that took place in conjunction with the circa 1895 mill construction. Later Lockhart Mill homes were built of wood frame and clapboard. , Lockhart Churches , Established during Lockhart's earliest years were churches for Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists. The oldest surviving church building was constructed for the Presbyterian congregation circa 1896. Lockhart Free Will Baptist Church followed with a building in Lockhart as early as circa 1905. This congregation is no longer present within the village. Lockhart First Baptist Church was erected circa 1921 and Lockhart Methodist Church was built circa 1926-1927. Lockhart Church of God, housing the town's youngest congregation, was constructed circa 1980. , Lockhart Schools , The mill opened the first school for children of operatives by 1901. Lockhart Mills was one of only four mills in the state with an accredited high school of its own by 1920. That year, Lockhart opened a new high school with a full auditorium, 12 teachers, and 409 enrolled students. Educators lived in a two-story, gabled ell house converted for use as a teacherage. In 1953, the school was destroyed by fire, prompting the construction of a much larger school complex on Lockhart Drive at the north edge of the village. Completed in 1954, the Lockhart Schools educated town children from Kindergarten through 12th until 2007, when the high school grades were dissolved into Union County High School. , [photo captions] , . Personnel Office circa 1896 , . Lockhart Presbyterian Church , . Lockhart Free Will Baptist , . Lockhart First Baptist Church , . Lockhart Grammar School (Mill owned) , . Lockhart High School 1919-1953 , . Teacherage (Female Teachers living quarters)