Cooleemee Mill Town Museum

Visit North Carolina's first museum dedicated to documenting and interpreting the life of Southern cotton mill people where the public can catch a glimpse of this unique culture.

Cooleemee was but one of the hundreds of mill hills that dotted the Carolina piedmont. Cooleemee was born in the fall of 1898, when construction began on what was to be one of North Carolina's largest mills. Our village was peopled by sturdy country folk. Many of these families helped to build the mill and village, then went on to work in the mill. Some were already "mill people" with textile experience---but the vast majority had been farmers and stockmen.

There is no doubt that Cooleemee grew up around the cotton mill---first called The Cooleemee Cotton Mill, then Erwin Mills #3. Mill work was central to its people's lives, yet Cooleemee cannot be understood solely by its working life. The character of Cooleemee' s society was determined by its inhabitants----and it was---simply put---a densely-populated, country neighborhood


Cooleemee's pioneers spanned several generations. They included a number of Civil War veterans and its oldest resident was born during the presidency of Madison. There were young'uns who had never seen a real store. Until WWII, most Cooleemee families were self-sufficient in food---raising gardens, chickens, cows and hogs. Although all were affected by their new industrial setting, cotton mill people stubbornly retained many of their country ways.

Our elders tell us that Cooleemee was " like one big family." Depending on one another got them through calamities such as the 1908 mill fire, the 1918 Flu Epidemic, and Cooleemee's occupation by the National Guard in 1934. There were certainly plenty of conflicts. But neighbors did help neighbors, families stuck together and no one was afraid to go out at night.

Cooleemee's Mill Village Museum conveys the story of a hard-working people and how they survived. With the traditional values stressed, this story has meaning for us today. Walk with us through Old Cooleemee. When you leave you will better appreciate the people who helped create so much of modern North Carolina's wealth but never lost their humility.

 

Cooleemee is located on Hwy. 801 South, 1 mile South of its southern intersection with Hwy 601. Cooleemee is located 5 miles South of Mocksville in Davie County, North Carolina. (see map). We are located 13 miles northeast of Salisbury, NC and 28 miles southwest of Winston-Salem, NC. The Museum makes its home at the Historic Zachary House on Church Street.

Museum Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 10:00 - 4:00. Always ready for special tour appointments on any day of the week. Senior citizens and school children given appointment priority. Handicap accessible (ramp to Museum, bathrooms). Call (336) 284-6040 for more information.