Saving the Places
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Saving the Places
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Glencoe Cotton Mill |
Mill House in Erwin, NC |
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PO Office, Bynum, NC |
Old Ninth Street, West Durham |
West Ninth Street Today |
Today more than ever the remaining cotton mill towns and villages are threatened by a world moving too fast to even notice what we are losing. Once peaceful neighborhoods of the cotton mill folk are rapidly falling before the forces of absentee landlords and speculators---even the U.S. Postal Service! |
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However, in a few places efforts to preserve the physical remains of the Cotton Mill South have achieved incredible success. In the Tar Heel State, Glencoe and Edenton stand out. The work of Preservation North Carolina has saved two entire villages---houses & cotton mill. They are presently working in partnership with the Gaston County Historic Preservation Commission to reuse the old Loray/Firestone Mill. |
| The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, the West Salem Historical Society and the Cooleemee Historical Association are all community-based groups in former mill neighborhoods. Over time, once close-knit areas gave way to anonymous living. But, they have each discovered that preserving memories, traditions, photos and buildings have a tangible impact on improving their neighborhoods---drawing newcomers and old-timers together. |
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| Several towns are working to acquire their cotton mills for reuse and the Town of Forest City, NC recently did just that! |
