China has taken over much of the cotton weaving business in recent years, but in the 19th century the cotton mill was the bread and butter workplace for hundreds of Randolph County citizens.

The first cotton mill in Randolph County was located in Cedar Falls and the original company was established by an act of the N.C. General Assembly of Feb.1, 1829. Among the charter members of the enterprise was Jonathan Worth, later to become governor of North Carolina, and Jesse Walker, the great-grandfather of Charles W. and J. Frank McCrary, T. Henry Redding and H. B. Elliott.

The name of the first organization was The Manufacturing Company. The original plant was built on the north side of Deep River near the bridge and later became a part of the Jordan Spinning Company. The majority of the machinery was shipped by rail to Greensboro and hauled by horse-drawn wagons to Cedar Falls. Manufacturing operations began about 1836.

Not a great deal is known of the early days; however, it is recorded that Jonathan Worth secured a renewal charter for the business in 1858 and he was serving as president of the company at the time of his death in 1869. During the Civil War the mill supplied large quantities of cloth to the Confederate Army. Mr. Worth drew up a statement certifying that certain employees were absolutely necessary to the operation of the plant and requested that they be exempt from the draft.

A dam was constructed and the water diverted into a raceway leading under the plant to a huge waterwheel. The motion of the wheel was conveyed to the plant by a system of ropes and pulleys which were connected to the spinning frames and looms by leather belts. The plant continued to use water powered solely until a steam plant was installed in 1898 to supplement the water power. Cotton was used to produce a coarse cotton cloth.

Housing for the employees was provided by the mill and the company store was well stocked with food, clothing and general merchandise. For a while the business prospered. The Cedar Falls was described by J. A. Blair as “Queen of the River.” Not only was Cedar Falls Mfg. Co. the first mill in Randolph County it also was a pioneer mill in the South and many young men learned the trade there.

One of the more famous of them was Capt. John M. Odell who was born eight miles north of Asheboro on Jan. 20, 1831, and worked at the mill as a young man. He became an agent for the mill in 1868 and in 1869 moved to Concord. After a varied career in banking and general merchandising, he bought the McDonald Cotton Mills in Concord and incorporated them as Odell Manufacturing Co. to make cotton bags.

It was during the year 1869 that O. R. Cox came to Cedar Falls to become secretary, treasurer, and general manager of Cedar Falls Mfg. Co., and he soon became the principal stockholder.

He was known as a practical mill man, with training that had been acquired around the spindles. He also was known as a gentleman of strict integrity, of broad mind, liberal views and aggressive spirit.

In 1895 the mill had 4,000 spindles and was in the process of constructing a new mill to contain 200 looms.

S. H. Howard was superintendent. There were 10 shareholders in 1895: G.H. Makepeace, Rev. W. M. Curtis, W. H. Parks, W. H. Parks, Mrs. A. H. Worth, Dr. John M. Worth and Cox. The mill employed about 150 people.

Shortly after the turn of the century the mill came into lean times and in 1916 it was sold to the present Acme-McCrary Corp., and the name changed to Sapona Cotton Mills, Inc. At that time the plant was run down and the machinery antiquated. Machines were repaired and new spinning and weaving equipment purchased. Spinning frames were set up to produce hosiery yarns which were sold to Acme Hosiery Mills. In 1936 the management decided to close down the weaving operation, sell the machinery and convert to a silk throwing plant as both Acme and McCrary were using large quantities of silk.

W. A. Underwood Jr. became general manager, a position he held until his retirement in September 1967. The cotton spinning plant also became unprofitable and was sold to Sellers Manufacturing Co. of Saxapahaw. The plant later became Jordan Spinning Company.

Raw silk was brought from Japan with “books” of skeins packed in bales of straw matting. The war with Japan ended silk throwing in 1941, but in the meanwhile E. I. DuPont had developed a new fiber which was given the generic name Nylon. In 1936 McCrary hosiery was one of the first plants selected by DuPont to assist in the development of Nylon.

Sapona had not completely installed the specialized equipment to process Nylon for hosiery knitting when the war broke out. They were able to secure the needed equipment because the company had a number of military contractors who made Nylon fabric for parachutes, poncho cloth, glider-tow-ropes and other needed items.

After World War II the mill continued to operate as a subsidiary of Acme-McCrary Corp.



Barron Mills is a former editor and publisher of The Randolph Guide. He lives in Asheboro.