The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-13
Story of a Unique
 Factory Near Newton
By Will T. Sheehan

 a country depot, bond of amity was | formed and conversation advanced quite | satisfactorily.
 | The newspaper man wanted to know what enterprise the big brick building | under the hill a mile over Pea River represented, the building just below the l Newton depot. The section boss was | carving off a large hunk of plug cut. He poised the heavy load in the air as he gave answer.
 "why, them buildings" he responded, | "are the Killebrew Woolen Mills. New CT heard of the Killebrew Woolen Mills? See them pantsT he asked throwing l back his brown overcoat and skipping the projecting leg. Made right down there at Killebrew's. Went right down there and the old man took my meas | ure, spun the wool right before me, made the cloth and sewed up the pants inside of twenty minutes. What do you think of that7'
 The Unique ManufaetOry.
 l The newspaper man had heard Of the | Killebrew Woolen Mill but the memory had been a vague one until the section boss had recalled 1t to life. The sec- tion boss had brought to his notice per- haps the most unique manufacturing enterprise in the State of Alabama. In all the south there is probably no oth- l CT factory just like it. In spite of the drizzly winter rain the wandering one knew that the three hours remaining until train time could not be better spent than in a visit to the famous for all the surrounding section at least l--Killebrew Mills a mile away.
 |. They have a picturesque setting, just in the rear of wide dam that stops and imprisons the waters of a broad country branch. A huge overshot waterwheel turning slowly with the weight of the water from the pond gave the scene touch of the romantic. There was something incongruous in the scene too, the old fashioned mill pond, the long wooden Hume and the big overshot wheel contrasted strongly with a wide spreading brick structure that must have cost at least $25.O00 to put there in the woods. In spite of the contrast, notwithstanding the incongruity of the brick building in the spring, with the surrounding dogwoods in bloom, with the alders and the oaks brave in their green finery. the mill pond, the Hume. the old wheel, the new brick building without doubt forms a beautiful pie unusual landscape.
 The brick structure is a thing of recent years. T. J. Killebrew the pres ent proprietor of the mills came with his father as far back as 1872 to the wooded dell along the country branch and built a woolen mill. The primary purpose of the mill was to manufac-
 ture into jeans the wool that then grew on the backs of the sheep which were so numerous and so profuse in these woods of Dale, Coffee, Henry and Ge- neva counties, The big overshot wheel was then the principal thing about the
 enterprise. It was no ambitious un- dertaking, but it made money from It's very inauguration. The business in-
 creased so as the years went by. The
 wooden mill had to give way to the big
 brick structure and the old style ma chinery gave way to the latest and most modern in the way of machinery for spinning weaving, cutting and sew
 ing. It grew so large that the output has been sold in most of the Southern
 States and to such fame the demands made upon the mill in this month of
 January of 1905 can not be supplied. At this time when Mir. Killebrew has so many orders that he can not meet
 he looks closely after his regular cus- toners and hangs new orders on the
 hook in the hope that at some future time he may possibly get to them. Only One in State.
 This singular enterprise is unique in more ways than one. It is the only woolen mill in the State and it is the only mill, MT. Killebrew says, in the ! whole country which makes goods that are 100 per cent pure wool This is . his boast about his Dale County mill
 1t turns out pants that are 100 per cent
 wool and he asserts that that nowhere else in the United States is that done. The head of this strange enterprise
 T. J. Killebrew, is honored and esteem
 ed in this county, where he has spent
 the years of his life. He is in his way
 as Interestingly strange as his strange enterprise, considered as [ manufacturer. He has a round cut beard almost white. above which he wears a pair of steel trimmed specks, , the old style. You remember how your . grandfather looked in them? A big broad-brimmed hat covers his gray
 hair and his strong alert eyes shine kindly through the steel trimmed glass : es. In defense against the cold and . rain he wore that afternoon a brown overcoat closely buttoned up to the chin.
 Being Saturday afternoon the mill
 had closed down early and the propri-
 etor was at his combined office and store across the road from the mill !. The store was of modest dimensions Its like can be seen in any country beat , in the State of Alabama. Wooden r shutters, two wooden blocks for steps x and some thousand and odd nail heads , crossing and recrossing each other on t the door front, the whole unpainted and
 dark.
 f The head of the Killebrew Wooler < Mills was inside doing clerical duty when I came up. He had just sold 8 a dimes worth of cheese to a woman in : a calico dress, a sun bonnet and a red . shawl. The lady was judiciously t weighing the question as to whether r to make the additional purchase of g
 can of salmon. Throughout my inter. , view with MT. Killebrew he was busily ' 1 engaged in attending to the Saturday t afternoon rush at the store, selling now :. a can of potash, now a package ol 1. chewing gum and now giving out - premium to a red faced country urchr . for a handful of tobacco tags IT z watching him and iR-noting his mark
 ed kindness to the small customers
 quite forgot that this man was the . head of considerable enterprise anC # the only one of it's kind in the State. d I was reminded of his manufacturing - interests, however, when a tall anC
 lean young fellow rode up on a mul,
 I announced that he wanted to buy
 IT of pants.
 ~' Bill and His Pants.
 t think I've got your size SS manufacturer said lookinl he long slender legs, mucl
 knees. Tn fact, don
 .'-r ever was pair o