Glencoe - Life in the Mill Village

Glencoe - Life in the Mill Village. From Farm to Factory. The whole matter of providing attractive and comfortable habitations for cotton operatives [is] summarized in the statement that they are essentially a rural people…while their condition is in most cases decidedly bettered by going to the factory, the old instincts cling to them.” , - Daniel A. Tompkins, Cotton Mill, Commercial Features, 1899., For water powered mills such as Glencoe, their remote locations meant that industrialists had to provide housing. Owning the mill village and the workers’ houses also gave the company greater control over the workers and their families. When the Holts founded Glencoe, they relied on the principles described by mill developer Tompkins. They planned their mill village to attract and keep workers and to foster productivity and stability. , Glencoe was considered a “progressive manufacturing enterprise” with an especially attractive and well-run village. Founder James Holt and his son Robert took a personal interest in the operation. As at some other mills, the company provided community and recreational facilities to maintain a healthy and orderly community and encourage families to remain with the mill. These included a lodge hall, a chapel, a baseball field for the mill sponsored team, and a school. In the 1880s, earlier than many mill owners, James Holt required the children of the village to attend school for several years before they could work in the mill. , Reverse side of marker, Residents of the Mill Village, As at most cotton mills in the Piedmont, women and children comprised the majority of workers during Glencoe’s early years. Of 133 mill workers in 1890, over 2/3 were women and children. About a quarter of the village households were headed by women, many of them widows with children., The situation changed in the early 20th century. In 1924, men held over 2/3 of the mill jobs, and only 2 children worked in the mill. The change resulted from child labor laws and state education rules, and from the agricultural depressions that forced more men to leave their farms and find manufacturing jobs, bringing their whole family to the mill village. , Village Design and Facilities , In typical form the mill stands beside the river. Nearby are the company store and office, and the residence of the superintendent. At a little distance are the more elaborate homes of the manager and the owner. , Rows of modest houses for workers line the two streets that stretch up the hill. In keeping with the idea of a rural setting, the Holts planned the village to have good-sized yards, plus individual and common garden plots. There are both 1-story, 1 ½-story and 2-story houses, which had from 3 to 6 rooms each. Most have front porches and many had separate kitchens in back. Families used outdoor privies behind the individual houses and shared a well among two to four families. They tended vegetable gardens and many kept a cow or chickens. At one time, the mill provided electricity to the houses during certain hours in morning and evening., Community , From the working family’s perspective, the community was a close-knit one, in which members often cared for one another “like a family.” Although their work days and weeks were long and hard, village residents found many ways to socialize and enjoy their lives outside the mill – in church events, baseball, fishing and hunting. At the same time, residents knew that the Holts forbade union organizations and kept a close eye on all the residents’ activities, to maintain a stable working situation.