1693 acre grain plantation founded by Michael Holt III (1778-1842). Birthplace of E.M. Holt (1807-1884), a founder of the southern textile industry and developer of "Alamance Plaid" fabrics. Dr. William Rainey Holt (1798-1868), noted "scientific . . . — — Map (db m222728) HM
Burlington Mills was incorporated Nov. 1, 1923. The first plant of that company, later known as Burlington Industries, largest maker of textiles in the world, began operations on this site July 29, 1924. — — Map (db m29995) HM
To the right is the carriage shed. This building is an original building to the site. It was used to store a wagon or other horse drawn equipment.
To the left is a blacksmith shop. Even though this building is not original, the blacksmith was . . . — — Map (db m222778) HM
2. Picker House
After drivers delivered bales of raw cotton to Glencoe, the first step in transforming it to woven cloth took place in the Picker House. Men unpacked the cotton from the bales and removed such debris as twigs, leaves, and bugs. . . . — — Map (db m222789) HM
Following the labor turbulence of the 1930s and the strain of the Great Depression, World War II brought relative calm and increased productivity to the mill communities. Immediately after the War, however, mill owners revived a movement that had . . . — — Map (db m222731) HM
African Americans experienced the textile mill world very differently than white families. Mills did not offer the same work opportunities to black men and women as they did for whites. Life in the mill village was also restricted, and black workers . . . — — Map (db m222732) HM
Mill employees worked at tedious jobs for long hours, usually having only Sundays to rest. With responsibilities at home as well as in the mill, free time was limited. Still, mill workers found ways to socialize, relax, and have fun in a world . . . — — Map (db m222733) HM
Mill owners initially built villages near textile mills to attract families of workers. By 1900, 92% of workers lived in mill-owned housing. A typical mill village in the 1920s consisted of about 350 houses located within walking distance of the . . . — — Map (db m222743) HM
Early textile mill owners alleviated labor shortages by recruiting entire families for employment. Offering homes as well as jobs, owners created villages of workers from which the mills could draw. Children - sometimes as young as seven - filled . . . — — Map (db m222745) HM
Church congregations were central to social as well as religious life in the village. Mill owners encouraged church membership among their workers and often aided congregations to promote social stability and community morality. The Baptist church, . . . — — Map (db m222747) HM
Although industrialization brought great improvements to the South, advancements in health and medicine lagged dramatically behind. Without antibiotics, infectious diseases were common and dangerous. Medical care was often unavailable, and employers . . . — — Map (db m222752) HM
Built around 1890 between the factory and the mill houses, the small brick building linked mill production and village life. The mill office was on the left side, with the owner's office behind it. The company store was on the right side. Especially . . . — — Map (db m222760) HM
Like many Piedmont mills, Glencoe was built at an old grist mill site - the Vincent Mill begun in the 1860s. Remains of it may be seen on the "island" side of the mill race. The Vincent Mill had a wooden dam and a mill race about 100 yards long. For . . . — — Map (db m222762) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m222763) HM
In 1899 James H. Holt sold Emanual "Man" Marshall a one-acre lot at the northeastern end of the Glencoe property. "Man" Marshall was the superintendent at Glencoe Mills for nearly forty years. He and wife Mary Eliza Murray Marshall lived with their . . . — — Map (db m222765) HM
When Glencoe Mill opened in 1880, founder James H. Holt was ahead of most of his contemporaries in requiring that village children attend school for several months a year to the sixth grade, before they could work in the factory. The company built . . . — — Map (db m222767) HM
In Glencoe as in other Alamance County villages, the Holts built many substantial, 2-story houses for the workers. They resembled farmhouses in the area. In most of the 2-story houses, carpenters used hand-sawn timbers put together with pegs. Some . . . — — Map (db m222768) HM
At Glencoe, there were three levels of management: Owner, Manager, and Superintendent. The location and style of their houses indicated their occupants' status in the hierarchy. The Mill Owner's House, built for Robert Holt, is a large 2-story . . . — — Map (db m222769) HM
Incorporated in 1880 by James H. and William E. Holt, sons of textile pioneer E. M. Holt. The last water-powered textile mill developed by the Holts. Produced napped cotton cloth, flannels and woven plaids. Employed as many as 500 workers at its . . . — — Map (db m222770) HM
A remarkably complete mill village exemplifying the post-Civil War development of the textile industry along the streams of piedmont North Carolina. Glencoe Mill built nearly 50 houses for its workers. Acquired by Preservation North Carolina in 1997 . . . — — Map (db m222771) HM
In the village, every aspect of the workers’ lives revolved around the mill. In addition to their homes, the churches, schools, and stores all belonged or were tied to the mill owners. While these places provided much needed social time for mill . . . — — Map (db m222773) HM
The Lodge Hall, a small frame building, housed many types of gatherings. The Barber Shop, built in the 20th century, served village men and boys. In one period, old-timers recall, a barber would arrive and open the shop to cut hair one evening each . . . — — Map (db m222775) HM
Transitioning from the farm to an industrialized way of life was especially hard for men. On the farm, men experienced a certain amount of freedom and variety; millwork was often tedious, repetitive, and produced only wages for a day's labor. Men . . . — — Map (db m222776) HM
Industrialization came to the South later than it had in the North. The first generation of mill workers were transplanted farmers who had no tradition of labor unions. The nature of the mill village also made organized labor difficult. The mill . . . — — Map (db m222787) HM
To power the turbine that ran the mill, the water that ran through the mill race flowed into the wheelhouse at the back of the mill. It dropped down through the 48-inch, 152-horsepower turbine located below ground level. A metal shaft connected the . . . — — Map (db m222796) HM
Mill designers planned the brick and heavy timber mill to standards of the day. They employed the Italianate style popular for industrial architecture. Its ornate brickwork, arched windows, low roof, and prominate tower suited the functional needs . . . — — Map (db m222804) HM
In the decades following the Civil War, the textile industry thrust the South into a period of rapid industrialization. In North Carolina, construction of railroads began through Piedmont “backcountry,” and cities sprung up in their paths. Piedmont . . . — — Map (db m222805) HM
The first waves of migration off the farms were primarily single women and widows. Since these women had limited access to land, they were eager to take the steady work and housing the textile mills provided. An example of this was Bynum, North . . . — — Map (db m222806) HM
Turning raw cotton into cloth was a multi-step process. As a result, textile mills had different jobs all along the production chain. In the opening room, men unfastened cotton bales and loaded them into cleaning and fluffing machines. From there . . . — — Map (db m222807) HM
Saxapahaw was first settled by the Sissapahaw Indians - a hunting and farming tribe. In 1701, explorer and surveyor John Lawson visited the area and described it as "the flower of the Carolinas". In the mid-1700s, the first European settlers came . . . — — Map (db m215840) HM
John Newlin began construction of the Saxapahaw Cotton Mill in 1844. The mill was owned by the Newlin family until it was sold to Edwin Holt in 1873 and was later run by Holt's sons-in-law under the name White-Williamson and Company. The mill . . . — — Map (db m215842) HM
In 1921 Principal E.P. Dixon started high school classes in nearby vacant cotton gin, naming school for the inventor Eli Whitney.
In 1923 high school classes relocated to building on this site. In 1928 a primary grade school building was . . . — — Map (db m33345) HM
In 1914 James Paul Lucas, diamond trader, eccentric, and world traveler, settled at this mansion and kept his collection of curiosities. — — Map (db m210424) HM
1883 The Spring is Discovered The Healing Spring was discovered by Willie Barker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Barker, according to well-accepted tradition. As the story goes, Willie was helping his father plow corn when his father sent him to the . . . — — Map (db m228778) HM
The early history of Todd is much like that of numerous crossroads communities
throughout northwestern North Carolina. Located where Elk Creek flows into the
South Fork of the New River, it was a logical site for trade, starting with . . . — — Map (db m228892) HM
During the Civil War, natural resources such as salt, lead, and iron were highly prized commodities in the Confederacy. The government relied especially on small rural ironworks to manufacture cannons, swords, and firearms. Ruben White first mined . . . — — Map (db m77479) HM
Colonial home of Colonel Robert Palmer, Surveyor-General of North Carolina 1753-1771 and Collector of Customs for the Port of Bath. Built c. 1744, probably by Michael Coutanche, it is one of the oldest surviving dwelling-houses in the State. . . . — — Map (db m66701) HM
Congressman from New York, 1821-39; House leader for Jackson & Van Buren; minister to Russia; merchant. Was born in this town, 1786. — — Map (db m65820) HM
In 1830 talented shipwright and freed slave Hull Anderson built a prosperous shipyard three blocks west of here, before moving to Liberia. — — Map (db m224083) HM
Eagle Street traditionally has been the commercial, cultural, and professional center of the African-American community. The YMI Cultural Center, commissioned by George W. Vanderbilt in 1892 as the Young Men's Institute, was renovated in the 1980s. . . . — — Map (db m98367) HM
Building the Block
Gateway to Community
As you turn down Eagle Street, you'll find yourself in The Block. This revitalizing district was crucial to the culture, economy and history of Asheville's African American community for more . . . — — Map (db m209942) HM
The original Biltmore Dairy Bar began as an extension of the estate's dairy operations, established in 1897 as part of George Vanderbilt's vision of Biltmore as a self-sustaining farm.
Thanks to the prized herd of Jersey cows, the dairy . . . — — Map (db m179297) HM
James Vester Miller was chief brickmason for the 1925 Municipal Building. The cornucopias over the side doorway mark the entrance to the City Market, located there from 1926 to 1932. Of slave parentage, Miller achieved renown as a craftsman, . . . — — Map (db m98368) HM
Caney [Canie] Brown, an Asheville native, founded the successful Swannanoa Laundry on Church Street in 1902. He also served as president of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, a charter member and president of the Asheville Rotary Club, and . . . — — Map (db m187805) HM
Asheville's central square has long served the
needs of government and commerce. From
1892 to 1926 a massive city hall with a bell
tower dominated the east end. The building
housed police and fire departments in addition
to municipal offices. . . . — — Map (db m17062) HM
Every town has its legendary businesses and The Man Store was certainly one of those. Most people who lived in or anywhere near Asheville from 1922 until the store left downtown in the early 1970s were familiar with it. Coleman Zageir (1894-1975) . . . — — Map (db m210017) HM
Native American trails guided settlers to this site, where in 1793 the Buncombe County Court placed the first courthouse, prison, and stocks. With the opening of the Buncombe Turnpike in 1827, this public square became a crossroads for stagecoach . . . — — Map (db m97553) HM
City Center
The intersection before you was an important crossroads long before Asheville came to be. indigenous people traveled the path of this road that would later become a popular route with drovers bringing their livestock to market. . . . — — Map (db m212976) HM
Asheville's Flat Iron Building, completed in 1926, boats triangular proportions and rich ornamentation like its predecessor in New York City. Albert C. Wirth designed this structure to house professional offices and shops. Typical of rapid . . . — — Map (db m187804) HM
Colonel Frank Coxe opened the first Battery Park Hotel in 1886. The rambling structure on a hill top became internationally prominent, catering to famous guests. In the early 1920s Edwin W. Groves purchased the property. He built a brand new Battery . . . — — Map (db m30224) HM
Markus Reich was a Holocaust escapee from Poland who made his way to Asheville with his wife, Maria, after the war and opened the successful American Tool and Mold business here. The University of North Carolina at Asheville Center for Jewish . . . — — Map (db m187806) HM
After the end of the Civil War, Black people began establishing enterprises in Asheville. Isaac Dickson's investments sparked a thriving business district and neighborhood that stretched from Eagle and Market streets into the present-day East . . . — — Map (db m240092) HM
Making Way for Change
At the turn of the 20th century, this city block was the site of Battery Porter Hill, a ridge measuring seven stories high topped by the original Battery Park Hotel. With its Queen Anne elegance, the resort's 500 . . . — — Map (db m209937) HM
Asheville's bustling, cosmopolitan scene in the 1920s led to the opening of many department stores and exclusive shops along these three blocks of Haywood Street. For fifty years the area thrived until suburban malls lured shoppers away. . . . — — Map (db m209928) HM
After John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, new militia companies were formed in the South. Businessman William W. McDowell, whose wife acquired this house from her father’s and brother’s estates, raised a company called the . . . — — Map (db m75524) HM
The coming of the railroad and tuberculosis sanitariums in the 1880s prompted a population explosion in Asheville. On Patton Avenue the Grand Central Hotel opened circa 1880 and the Grand Opera House in 1890. Later, vaudeville and motion picture . . . — — Map (db m97550) HM
Buncombe County was carved out of a magnificent mountain landscape etched by indigenous trails and scattered settlements. The bill creating the county was ratified on January 14, 1792.
In 1793, the county's first official courthouse, a jail and . . . — — Map (db m98370) HM
You Have Arrived
The Swannanoa River Valley was known as "Grey Eagle" in the time when the Cherokee and Catawba people lived here. By the late 1800s, surveyors had deemed the neighboring Black Mountains range the highest in the Eastern . . . — — Map (db m209919) HM
At the height of rail travel, as many as 10 trains a day stopped at Black Mountain.
Horse-drawn buggies and, later, motor car taxis would line up to wait for disembarking passengers to take them to one of the many boarding houses, hotels, and . . . — — Map (db m179640) HM
Across the street from the depot, passengers could grab a last-minute souvenir or soda at the local drug store, dine at the New York Café, or rent a room above the Star Café, which advertised, "Locks on All Doors."
Train travel was the primary . . . — — Map (db m176971) HM
People have built vacation homes in the Southern Appalachians for centuries. The beautiful scenery, cool mountain breezes, and abundant wildlife make these mountains a favorite summer destination. Rattlesnake Lodge served as one of these early . . . — — Map (db m140151) HM
A Walk on the Wild Side
Do roots anchor living things to one place …really? According to best-selling
author Henning Mankell, “You can have more than one home. You can carry your
roots with you and decide where they grow.” This is so . . . — — Map (db m229326) HM
Cannon Mills president, 1921-1962; advanced the marketing of textiles. Civic leader and health care benefactor. Grave is one mile south. — — Map (db m42696) HM
Horton Building
Commerce and
Merchants Building
1952
National
Register of
Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the
Interior — — Map (db m175773) HM
In the last quarrter of the nineteenth century, many cotton mills were operating in Concord providing employment for great numbers of local citizens while swelling the population. The above is a tribute to Gibson, Coleman, and Odell mills.
The . . . — — Map (db m175761) HM
