Mill No. 3

Mill No. 3. Mill Centre. Mt. Vernon Mill No. 3, renamed Mill Centre in the 1980s, represented in 1853, an important expansion to Mt. Vernon Company. Led by president and former sailor Captain William Kennedy, both were among 14 U.S. mills that, as part of a huge textile conglomerate, would capture up to 80% of the world’s demand for cotton duck in the early 1900s., The village of Stone Hill, adjacent to Mill No. 3 was built around 1845 to house the growing workforce. Families housed in the cottage-like stone duplexes were bought in from surrounding rural areas by mill owners, who also built a company store, churches, a boarding house, and a school., Mill No.3 was expanded in 1880 as demand for cotton duck increased. More housing followed, so much so that by 1888---when Hampden and Woodberry were annexed by Baltimore City, development had exceeded well beyond the original boundaries of the mill villages., In the 1920’s what was once Hampden’ major employer moved much of the mills’ operation to the South. The company began selling off properties, and Stone Hill families in turn were able to buy their homes from their former employers. A new generation of manufacturing moved in and repurposed the old textile mills. In 1974, Rockland Industries bought Mill No. 3, installed new looms, and produced assorted synthetic textiles. By 1986, the mill was once again sold and redeveloped into a complex of artist studios, galleries, and commercial office space.