Mississippi Mills (Wesson, Mississippi)
Mississippi Mills was a cotton and wool textile manufacturing complex that operated in Wesson, Mississippi, during the latter half of the 19th century. By 1892, Mississippi Mills was described as the largest industry of its kind in the South.[1]
Absentee management and financial difficulties contributed to the mills' decline. The complex closed in 1910 and was dismantled several years later.
Establishment
In 1864, during the
Because of
Peak years
The textile complex consisted of four mills that were built over a period of 21 years, from 1873 to 1894.[5] By 1882, electric lights had been installed to illuminate the textile buildings. When all four mills were completed, they covered several city blocks, and one was five stories high.
Under the leadership of William Oliver, from 1873 to 1891, business at Mississippi Mills thrived because of his interest in the mill workers and community affairs. By the late 1880s, Mississippi Mills employed:
...1,200 workers to operate 25,000 cotton spindles, 26 sets of woolen machinery, and 800 looms in the production of 4,000,000 yards of cotton goods, 2,000,000 yards of woolen goods and 320,000 pounds of yarn and twine annually.[5]
Mississippi Mills produced a great variety of cotton and woolen products that included:
...cassimeres, jeans, doeskins, tweeds, linseys, flannels, wool and cotton knitting yarn, cotton rope, cotton warp, yarn, cottonades, flannelettes, gingham plaids, cheviots, checks, plaids, stripes, hickory, brown sheeting, shirting, drilling, eight ounce osnaburgs, ticking for feathers and mattresses, sewing thread, sewing twine for bags and awnings, wrapping twine, honey comb towels, awning, and balmoral skirts.[1]
Decline
Following the deaths of Edmund Richardson, in 1886, and William Oliver, in 1891, the fortunes of Mississippi Mills began to decline. John Richardson, who succeeded his father as president, brought in a general manager from the
References
- ^ a b Dunbar Rowland (Editor). 1907. Encyclopedia of Mississippi history: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions and persons, Volume 2. S. A. Brant, Madison, Wisconsin. Page 949.
- ^ Bankston Ghost Town
- ^ Mary C. Miller. 2002. Lost landmarks of Mississippi. The University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi
- ^ Stephen E. Cresswell. 2006. Rednecks, redeemers, and race: Mississippi after Reconstruction, 1877-1917. The University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi
- ^ a b c Narvell Strickland. 2001. A History of Cotton Mills and the Industrial Revolution
- ^ "Historic and Architectural Resources of Copiah County, Mississippi|National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" (PDF). mdah.ms.gov. 1996. Retrieved March 2, 2022.