The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-12-17
A MARVELLOUS CHANGE
IT'S RELIANCE ONCE ALMOST
SOLELY COUNTY TRADE
NOW LARGE COTTON MILLS HUM THERE
A Hosiery Mill Helps Pull in the Ducats; Tro-
wells Ring MerriIy on 2 New Cotton
Mills, and Hammer and Saw
on so Dwellings


correspondence A-Tarboro is one of the
most wide-awake and progressive towns
in the State, rapidly developing into ore
of the best manufacturing. towns. When
| first knew il, not a pound of any pro-
duct of the county was manufactured
here and almost the sole reliance of
Tarboro was the trade it enjoyed with
a rich agricultural section 1t has now
a large and fiourishing cotton mill and
hosiery mill in operation, and two new
large cotton factories and fifty residences
are in process of erection When these
two nils are finished Tarboro will have
100000 invested in cotton mills here
at home. The first cotton mill erected
here. of which S. S. Nash is president
A. NJ. Farley is treasurer and superin-
tendent and Fred Philips A. NJ Fair
ley, II. L. Station, ID. Litchenstein and
Geo. Holderness are directors-has paid
remarkably well. 1t is owned entirely
by about fifteen citizens Of Tarboro and
for eighteen months has been running
night and day 1t has a capital of
S1G0.06O and has paid SO well that the
company is erecting mill No. which
Will he under the same management. hav-
ing capital OF 100000. The superin-
tendent and treasurer, Mr.. A. NJ. Fair
ley, is Cumberland county Scatchman
Ga blue stocking Presbyterian, of course),
and he and the other owners Call Edge
cemhe county mem have demonstrated
THAT fne best place for a successful cot
ton mill is adjacent to 4 cotton field.
love TO emphasize this fact: For twenty
years in most sections of North Caro-
lina the people waited for outside capi-
tai to come in and build factories While
they We're waiting the Holts Steeles
Odelis and other Tar-heels were making
money manufacturing cotton. 4 few
years ago the richest men in Tarboro
came to the conclusion that if mill men
in Burlington could make big dividends
after paying freight on cotton, there
was Il little more money in manufactur-
ing it where no freight would have to
be paid They invested their own money
going to build another mill by the side
Of mill number one 1t will be finished
by the middle of January
One Of the most successful hosiery
mills in the SOlHh is the Riveryiew mill
conducted by Mr.. John Il. Shackleford,
a prudent, live and successful business
p.an. Look at these socks | am wear
ing" said an eX-Judgel They were
made at Shackleford's Riverside Knit
ting mills and cost me 1919 cents a pair. >
They are good enough for anybody and
| learn that the best dressed men in
Tarboro take pride in wearing these
homemade socks That's the thing we
need to learn in North Carolina-patron-
ize home industries. Mr.. Shackleford
has an outside demand for the entire
product of his mill and sells only at
wholesale, but Tarboro folks insist on
wearing Tarboro made socks. If the
whole State could be yaccinated with
the yirusof patronizing home industry,
our dollars would not run ON wheels TO
YankeeIand but would stay with us.
AS you come into TarborO, you see
work being done ON the Fountain Cot
ton MILL" a 100000 mill and twenty
five cottages for operatives. The mill
and houses are situated ON the Battle
property, between the depot and the
Fair grounds. and is to be a prosperous
factory suburb. Mr. w e. Fountain is
at the head Of this mill. He has in
terested some outside capitalists as
stockholders. among them Mr.. q. Nj.
Serplee of the Norfolk and Carolina Rail-
road Company. and Mr. Reuben Foster.
The factory is about completed and will
be running by the 10th of January.
When this factory and Factory number
two of the Tarboro cotton mills are III
operation ii will add one thousand to
the population.
The Irene Silk Mill with capital
stock of $4,000 will soon be in opera
tion. Most all of the stock has been
subscribed here, and it is expected that
it will add largely to the prosperity of
the country by encouraging the raising
Of silk worms.
The time was that this was an all
cotton country and so when cotton went
down to five cents it was disastrous
blow to the Edgecombe farmers. He
still makes cotton, but it is no longer
King Hog and hominy" first persist
emily preached here by Judge Dorsey
Battle, then editor of Fthe Tarbero
Southerner. has been made the slogan
of the farmer with the result that he has
prepared himself to live at home and
board at the same place, cotton or no
cotton. The soil of this county is par
ticularly we'll adapted to the cultivation
of cotton and the better price this year
has made better conditions for the cot