McCleary, Ann and Keri Adams, “West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail,” Georgia’s Great Places, Fall-Winter 2015-16, pages 26-30. Read online.
Adams, Keri and Ann McCleary, “‘The Clothing Center of the South,” West Georgia Living, May-June 2015, pages 21-25. Read online.
Dellinger Inc: A Shooting Star of Rome’s Textile Industry
Dellinger Inc. was a chenille bedspread and custom carpet producer in Rome, Georgia. Founded by Walter Edwin Dellinger and his wife Callie in the mid-1930s, the company was passed down from generation to generation for 60 years until it finally went out of business in the early 1990s.
The Uprising of ’34
On September 01, 1934, a massive strike that would last only three weeks would begin in the southern United States. Officially known as The General Textile Strike of 1934, and unofficially as The Uprising of ‘34, this strike led to textile mills shutting down for a brief period, arrests, fights, and unfortunate deaths.
Waterpower and Water Transportation in Textile Mills
Waterpower was crucial to the development of the textile industry in the southern United States, especially to communities at or above the fall line. The main use of water for power came in the form of water wheels and turbines.
Griffin: The Rise and Fall of the Boyd-Mangham Mills
The Boyd family, owners of a cotton warehouse in downtown Griffin, began their involvement in Griffin’s textile industry by establishing the J.D. Boyd Manufacturing Company in 1897.
Laurine Dixon Entrekin: Bremen-Bowdon Investment Employee
Laurine Dixson was born in Bowdon, Georgia on August 25, 1912. After working at Warren Sewell Clothing for 24 years, she retired in 1976.
Remembering Anchor Duck Mill with Leon Shiver
Leon Shiver, the feature of this story, grew up in a cotton mill village in Rome, Georgia. He has collected memorabilia and artifacts from the Anchor Duck mill, as well as attended annual reunions of the people who grew up in the mills.
Dangers of Mill Life
Working in textile mills before the mid-1900s was rife with danger. The entire mill line was exposed to hundreds of fast-moving parts—belts, spindles, shuttles–that could easily snag you if you were not paying attention.
The Life of a Dalton Textile Woman: Rosa “Midge” Murphy
On November 10th, 2013, the West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail Team traveled to the Dalton Freight Depot in Dalton, Georgia, to host a History Day where staff would gather the recollections, artifacts, and photos of people who had connections to the textile history of the Dalton area.
Cotton Mill Expansion after the Civil War
The number of textile mills in Georgia increased dramatically during the late nineteenth century. Atlanta Constitution editor Henry Grady fervently called for a Cotton Mill Campaign to rebuild the region after the Civil War and “bring the cotton mills to the cotton fields.”
Children in the Mills
Child labor became a serious social problem during the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom during the 1700s and spread to America as it became industrialized. Children, many below the age of 10, were employed by textile factories and forced to work long hours under dangerous and unhealthy conditions for very little pay.
