The blacksmith shops, and the livery stables were replaced by the service station when the automobile replaced the horse. The town also had grist mills, and at one time a saw mill operated here. There was a brickyard on the western side of the town at one time. Perhaps the closest the town ever came to being directly a part of the textile industry was in the early 1900s. W.T. NOAH operated a hosiery mill on North Williamson Avenue for a few years.
Today there are a number of major industries in the area.
Carolina Biological Supply Company is just to the east, and Roche Biomedical Laboratories is a part of the area economy. R.H. Barringer Distributing Co has a major location to the west. The college campus has now spread far beyond the original walled campus, there is a new and modern campus with dormitories, a beautiful fine arts center, baseball, soccer fields, and other facilities. A program of expansion was begun in 1992 to create a new athletic center and other major facilities on the north campus. More than 3,200 students are enrolled.