page_title: Bibb Manufacturing Company
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Bibb Manufacturing Company / Early years
caption_attribution_description: English: Bibb Manufacturing - Columbus plant - 1915 - Columbus, GA
context_page_description: Bibb Manufacturing Company was a textile company founded in Macon, Georgia in 1876 and was sold to Dan River in 1998. Bibb Manufacturing Company, also known as "The Bibb Company" produced cotton products such as sheets, comforters, towels, curtains, and bedspreads. Bibb Manufacturing not only provided jobs for its employees but also medical care, schools, housing, and social workers to organize clubs, trips, and other events.
context_section_description: The first real estate acquired by the company was an old freight house in east Macon. The adjoining 101.59 acres were also purchased.  After some immediate success, Bibb purchased a mill in west Macon that had been owned by Macon Manufacturing. This transaction was completed in 1878. These two mills were then named Bibb Mill Number One and Bibb Mill Number Two. In 1880 the business office was moved from Number One Mill to 111 Third St. The following year the company sold its first stock to Muir and Duckworth, increasing their capital to $150,000.
  By 1878, the company had 16,500 spindles and 140 looms. It goods were sold through James Reynolds and Company in New York.
  In 1898, Bibb merged with Macon Knitting Company, Taylor Manufacturing (near Reynolds, Ga), the Cordele Manufacturing Company, and Porterdale Mills. Stock at this point was valued at $1.4 million.
  In 1900, Bibb bought the Columbus Power Company. The Columbus Power Company included a spindle mill and a dam that generated power for the mill. In 1906, the power company portion was sold, but the mill and 51 acres around the mill were retained.  A new mill, the Columbus Mill, was built and, along with the surrounding land, was incorporated into Bibb City. Also in 1900, the Cordele Manufacturing Company was sold.
  In 1927, Bibb bought Payne Cotton Mills. This transaction was initiated in 1904 when J. Hanson recognized an opportunity to acquire the mill after the mill began to suffer from financial difficulties.  The transaction was complicated, full of errors, and took nearly 23 years to complete. In 1919, employees of the mill requested that the land and mill be incorporated as a city. This included the mill, employee houses, gardens, and a community center.  The incorporation was approved in April 1919 and Payne City became a city within Macon, Georgia.
caption: Columbus Plant – Columbus, GA – 1915
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