McAden Mills
notes: label: Description
content: This is an ink and watercolor drawing of McAden Mills.
label: Description
content: McAden Mills is a historic textile mill located in McAdenville, NC. It was founded by Rufus Y. McAden. With the Atlanta-Charlotte Railroad laying tracks in 1873, McAden purchased land along the South Fork of the Catawba River in 1880 and then chartered the Springs Shoals Manufacturing Company in 1881.
label: Description
content: The town was planned around the cotton mill with houses built to attract workers from the mountains and surrounding area. A company mercantile was established along with wheat and corn mills, a town library and phone lines to enhance the quality of life. In 1883, the town was incorporated as McAdenville and the company became known as McAden Mills.
label: Description
content: McAden Mills was a pioneering cotton factory considered to be the first truly modern textile mill of its time. It grew to be the largest in Gaston County through its innovative approach to operations. In 1883, Thomas Edison was hired to build a hydroelectric generator, No. 31 known as a dynamo, to power the lighting in the mill and mill houses.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: ER.1273-330-H
label: accession number
content: ?
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Drawing