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A Light and Lively Look Back at Cabarrus County, N.C.

by Helen Arthur-Cornett

223 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-2628; ISBN 1-4120-2049-2; US$32.00, C$41.00, EUR26.65, £18.47

Are you kin to Stonewall Jackson? Do you know how to bake a near? Who scalped Mrs. Clark? Answers are here. . .plus much more.

Read more!

about the book      about the author      sample excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book A compilation of 15 years of local history columns published in the Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, N.C./ Cabarrus Neighbors. From light-hearted and humorous to the tragedy of the civil war, these columns reveal volumes from the past, tidbits of interest from 300 years ago into the 20th century.

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About the Author Been a news and feature writer and columnist for more than 30 years with the Charlotte Observer/Cabarrus Neighbors. A history lover on various boards of directors of historical organizations, including Cabarrus Genealogical Society.

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Sample Excerpts

Sunday, January 7, 1990

IN 1839, EARLY LEADERS DECIDED TO MANUFACTURE TEXTILES

"The undersigned have his day agreed to form an association of co-partnership for the purpose of erecting a cotton factory to be propelled by steam in or near the town of Concord...."

Then, jotted down in smaller writing, in those minutes of the meeting - perhaps as an official afterthought and in the swirly, old-time penman's fashion - were the words, "to be called the Concord Steam Cotton Factory....." Feb. 18, 1839

The occasion: Momentous. A whole new future, a whole new economic system, a whole new way of life for thousands in and around Concord and Cabarrus Country hinged on those words, so dry today in their legal language.

The signers? About 35 Concord and Cabarrus Country men and women - yes women, at least two of them, even in that indisputably male-chauvinist era - with a little money to spare in 1839, and some conviction that better ways to profit from the homegrown cotton hereabouts, other than selling it north at low prices, could and should be sought.

Those Mill Founders

Their names (as best as I could make out, in that flowery old writing in the original minutes of the Concord Steam Cotton Factory): J. Phifer, Paul Barringer, T. F. Pifer, Caled Phifer, Gorman, E. R. Gibson, W. Barringer, George Barnhardt, D. M. Barringer, Ibzan Cannon, Dr. Alexander, Kiah Harris, R. W. Allison, Henry Fulenwider, L. Fulenwider, A. Shankle , Charles N. Price, David Cline, John Rogers (Rodgers), Mary S. Phifer, Sarah Young, Alexander, W. G. A. Meek, J. Pharr, David Alexander, Dan Coleman, R. K
atrick, Jacob Canoy, John Howie, Charley Parter, W. Foard.

Four names were completely illegible, baffling even Kathy Bridges of Cannon Memorial Library's Lore Room.

King Cotton

In 1839, cotton was king in agricultural Cabarrus Country. The country itself was only 47 years old. Veterans of the American Revolution still were living.

Stepped off and laid out in 1796, Concord still could claim no more than four stores in the small business district, there were some who yearned for the finer things: culture, for instance, and better education for their children.

How much is known of that significant time in our area's development? This week I'll research the origins of the Concord Steam Cotton Factory.

You know it today as Locke Mill Plaza - up there at the top of Union Street North - although only a small portion in a basement area remains of the original steam factory.

Did those early folk have any idea that the giant step they took 151 years ago would become the solid foundation of a textile-minded local citizenry, ultimately producing a skilled textile work force, booming growth in the quiet little village, a cadre of able textile administrators - eventually a strong industry that still operates profitably in Cabarrus Country?

That day in February 1839, as meticulously written down by newly elected secretary William Barringer, they also elected a board of seven directors, including Paul Barringer, Kiah Harris, D. M. Barringer, R. W. Allision, Caleb Phifer, Ibzan Cannon and John Rogers. They elected John F. Phifer treasurer.

They set all terms for one year and established shares of stocks to be issued at $100 a share.

To Produce Yarn

And, in one long paragraph - uninterrupted by any punctuation - they set forth the aims of their new Concord Steam Cotton Factory (parentheses indicate my guesses about nearly-illegible words):

"For the manufacturing of cotton yarn and such other fabrics as are usually made in cotton factories and also for the operation of such additional machinery (attached?) to the same as may hereafter be agreed upon in the same manner hereafter directed and we do hereby agree to pay the (amount?) respectively annexed to our names at the time and in the manner hereafter mentioned to the payment of which (amount?) we bind ourselves (and?) heirs, executors and administrators...."

Years of Careful Planning, Fund-raising

In February 1840, the skyline was changing significantly, up near the top of the long, high ridge occupied by the village of Concord in mid-Cabarrus Country.

Rising from the ground - eventually to stare down over the woods and trails that later would become North Union Street - were the red brick walls of the brand-new Concord Steam Cotton Factory.

It would rise three stories high, built of bricks probably made from local clay. A cupola, to house a bell, would adorn its top.

In 1840, a year after progressive-minded local citizens bravely undertook its founding, the structure must have been about half-completed.

It would be filled with the latest in modern 1840 textile machinery, hauled in by mule teams, attracting throngs of the curious, who came by horse and carriage from as far as 75 miles away to marvel at its industrial wonders.

Mill Changes Concord, Cabarrus

The little cotton factory would change, apparently forever, not only the skyline of the village, but also the economic thinking of its people, and the course of industrial history for Concord and Cabarrus Country.

In 1840 - only some 25 years after the end of the War of 1812 - North Carolina had 25 textile mills of various kinds, seemingly more than any other state in the small America of that era.

That doesn't surprise Judge Clarence Horton, a Kannapolis historian, citing the many area settlers who hailed from Scotland and Ireland and had lifelong associations with raising sheep, wool and the weaving industry.

It is likely, however, that the leaders who dreamed up, promoted and founded the factory were motivated to create new jobs to establish a stronger local economy. And to produce goods from Southern-grown cotton, rather than ship it north at low prices, then pay high prices for the Northern-manufactured merchandise.

Paul Barringer Credited

Much of the credit, it seems, must go to Paul Barringer, said to be the instigator, leader, ringleader, cheerleader and backbone of the new enterprise over a number of years.

Barringer, in old sources, is always perceived as an admirable, influential, affluent, forceful yet modest person. He also seems to have been elected board president year after year.

Of course, other notables in the village and country backed Barringer. Among the 35 charter stockholders in the young enterprise were Roberty W. Allison, John and Caleb Phifer, Dr. Alexander, Dr. Kiah Harris, John Rogers and others.

John Phifer and Paul Barringer were the major stockholders, each buying 30 shares at the $100 subscribed price. They were followed by T. F. Phifer with 28, Caleb Phifer with 23, and someone named Gorman with 15.

John Rogers had 13 shares, E. R. Gibson 12 shares. Purchasing 10
shares were George Barnhardt, D. M. Barringer, Sarah Young, W. G. A. Meek and Dan Coleman.

Ibzan Cannon bought eight shares, Dr. Alexander six. Five shares each went to W. Barringer, R. W. Allison, Mary Phifer, David Alexander, R. Kirkpatrick, John Howie, Charley Parter, W. Foard, and two more whose names are illegible in local records.

Other stockholders included A. Shankle and Charles N. Price with two shares each, and Jacob Canoy and David Cline, each with one share.

Three men obtained another 80 shares of stock. William Jenks bought 40 on the condition he be appointed to run the new mill. Henry Fulenwider and L. Fulenwider each bought 20 shares - which they paid for in iron casting and building materials for the mill.

Over the next 20 years the names of stockholders were to change somewhat, but most of the charter investors remained with the factory to the end.

Prosperity, in Spurts

Apparently we don't have to call it the "bitter" end, for the mill seems to have done well, at least in spurts.

Our sources, the minutes of the stockholders' meetings, tell a compelling 1840s story, if you allow for a little reading between the lines and some common-sense imagination.

Our main lack today, of course, is copies of a newspaper of the time to report on the events that developed around the founding, construction and operation of the mill.

Surely, for a project that major, it had taken a lot of persuasion, facts and figures and encouragement in the village - whose population was probably no more than several hundred - to raise the big sum needed.

And Feb. 9, 1841, must have seemed especially significant to those founders, for the directors, on that date, held their first annual stockholders meeting in the new factory itself.

The minutes of that meeting, while apparently a model of efficiency, were bare-bones dry. "The Legislature, having past [sic] an act of incorporation," wrote secretary William Barringer - Paul's son - "the question was before the meeting and after discussion it was unanimously adopted."

A committee was appointed to settle with treasurer John Phifer "for the last year," but there was no explanation or further detail.

Stockholders voted to pay for the factory's bonds, held in the Cape Fear Bank in Salisbury.

600 Busy Spindles

The $24,000 they had raised in stocks were reflected by that time in the 600 busy spindles they had ordered from Fishkill, N.Y. The spindles went to Cheraw to Concord in wagons drawn by six mules each.

The modern, high-powered steam engine, manufactured in Baltimore, was shipped to fayetteville, then to Concord over rough wilderness roads by mule team.

Pennsylvanian William Jenks and his 40 shares of stock arrived in Concord to start production and direct the operation of the steam factory.

What a time that must have been! The first finished goods emerged. Was there celebrating? A grand opening with music and speeches? Guided tours of the new factory? Maybe even refreshments, for the awed visitors from far away?

By the next year, April 1842, the mill had begun advertising: "The Concord Factory is now in full operation, the company is prepared to supply promptly all orders with cotton yarns of a reasonable terms as can be had in any southern market.

"Also a large quantity of nails at the low rate of seven cents per pound...."

Our leaders had prevailed, and we were in business - incorporated, in full operation, producing Southern-manufactured materials from Southern-grown cotton.

Full-steam into the 1840s

When the Concord Steam Cotton Factory was founded a definite time frame for that existence was established

"This copartnership shall exist for 20 years or until an act of incorporation of the subscribers by the proper authority shall be attained," reveals the steam factory's old minutes book. In ensuing years, the book began to swell with William Barringer's meticulous, if sparsely punctuated, accounts of proceedings The minutes continued, "The death of one of the parties shall not (work? wreak? the handwritten text is not clear enough to determine) a disolution [sp] of the concern but the (firm?) shall be continued for the benefit of all concerned...."

Two years later, in 1841, Concord's historic first steam cotton mill was off and running, manufacturing goods with Southern cotton - and carrying a line of nails on the side, for additional revenue.

Historic Impact

The 35 founders of the factory probably didn't ponder the historic impact of what they had wrought by voting aye, buying stock and launching a new textile industry here.

For the steam factory in future years was to set the textile stage for Concord and Cabarrus Country to become, and remain, a dynamic, big and profitable industry.

The road wasn't always smooth.

But in 1839, when those 35 men and women (their names were in the first two columns in this series) met to organize, they must have felt some trepidation, although Gen. Paul Barringer - highly respected for his exploits during the War of 1812 - had led the way.

I wish we knew where those charter stockholders had gathered to vote their historic action. The factory's minutes, preserved in the Lore Room at the in Concord, don't say.

They may have gone to a downtown village store, perhaps a local lawyer's office or one of Concord's homes.

A year later, with organizational matters apparently rolling smoothly, the stockholders gathered again for a general stockholders' meeting and enthusiastically took another major step.

Site Picking

The minutes describing how they voted to purchase a site for the cotton factory, "in the northwest part of the town of Concord near the main road to Salisbury," were as widely effusive as William Barringer - Paul Barringer's son - ever allowed himself, in his efficient, if dry, recordings of the meetings.

The motion, William wrote, "carried by a big majority."

Two years later, the mill building completed, stockholder William Jenks of Pennsylvania arrived to run the cotton mill, as the board had agreed when he bought his 40 shares.

New workers had been hired - how were they trained? - and advertising had been bought to announce the steam factory's manufactured products.

Sources say Jenks stayed here only a short time, but so far it is unclear how long he ran the operation, or why he stopped.

At any rate, one source states, Jenks was succeeded by John McDonald from Morristown, Pa., a man of Irish heritage.

McDonald and his family had come to stay in Concord, and they seem to have earned high marks from local residents. It's likely that some of John's descendants remain in this area today.

Stock Dividends

Under John McDonald's guidance, a 3 percent dividend was paid on each share of stock in February 1843, when the factory was four years old.

Great news for the investors, even though they were to take payment in goods at the factory....

Another source reported that the mill's yarns were exchanged for cash, cordwood or other usable barter, and that yarns were sold in bunches at a retail price of 90 cents to $1.20 per bunch.

Somewhere along the line, the name of the factory was changed to The Concord Manufacturing Co. But the encouraging beginnings of the mill apparently were not maintained through the 1840s.

A State of Sleep

Perhaps, as Judge Horton of Kannapolis has said, North Carolina, in the 1840s, was still known as "the Rip van Winkle State," for its lack of progress and industrial growth.

That lack may be attributed - as Horton believes - to the complete political control that eastern North Carolina legislators wielded over all of North Carolina.

At any rate, wrote one source: "These heroic pioneers of the cotton industry had hard sailing...."

Didn't Know Beans About a Cotton Mill

Today it seems apparent: Not one of them knew beans about the details of the day-to-day running of a cotton mill.

A persual - fascinating though slow going - of the old-fashioned, handwritten minutes of the annual meetings of the 1839 Concord Steam Cotton Factory shows how this group of men dealt with the crises that arose.

Some problems arrived with the influx of newly hired "mill hands" who operated the latest in 1840s modern cotton mill machinery.

Reading between the lines, it seems that the mill's first superintendent, William Jenks of Pennsylvania, did not exactly run things with an iron hand.

If you recall, Jenks had purchased 40 shares of stock in our new cotton mill, on condition he be hired to run it.

And run it he did, for a very short time.

For on July 24, 1841 - apparently only months after production began - the mill's stockholders approved the following:

"The question of the dismissal of Will Jenks, superintendent, from the services of the company, having been submitted to the consideration of the meeting by the board of direction, on motion it was resolved that the whole subject connected with the dismissal of the said Will Jenks be referred back to the board of direction. The meeting then adjourned."

Did we hear the collective sad sigh stockholders must have heaved, on considering that move?

Workers Got Out of Hand

There was more, though, for directors began enacting a virtual Ten Commandments of do's and don'ts for those hands.

Maybe it was that Will Jenks was not firm enough to suit the board of directors. From reading the minutes, I got the idea that the workers, under Jenks, must have been having a riotous ball around the new factory.

The men on the board (I haven't found yet that either of the two women stockholders ever served) laid down the law.

Here are some of the rules they made, after passing a resolution asserting that it was the board that held the "general control" of the factory.

* The "hands" were to obey the superintendent and were subject to dismissal by him.

* Hands were not to use profane language.

* Hands were not to engage in "riotous or unlawful conduct," or they would be discharged.

* Hands were not to bring or use intoxicating liquors on the premises, and, furthermore, "it is incumbent on the board of directors and superintendent to enforce good moral and orderly habits among all the hands."

Well, time went by, and the new superintendent, John McDonald - another Yankee from Pennsylvania - arrived and took up the reins.

And Gen. Paul Barringer, annually, was still being elected president of the board and mill.

But those hands, folks. Look what else the board had to do:

* "No hand will be allowed to quarrel or fight in the factory," or they would be dismissed, and disputes had to be referred to the manager.

* All hands had to tend to their work at the machinery, and it they broke any part, they had to pay for it.

* No hand could stay out of work without consent of management.

* There could be "no running about, playing (undecipherable) bobbins." Furthermore, hands would not be allowed to leave their work to talk.

* Hands who lost time from work would have it deducted from their pay.

* No hand could stop or leave their work to talk to any visitors to the factory, and visitors were not allowed to talk to the hands.

(I guessed that a modern machinery in the new mill had attracted so many sightseers - from up to 75 miles away, some sources have said - that it proved an interference and distraction for the workers.)

New Machinery Bought

The factory seemed to do fairly well for a few years. There was a dividend or two. More people subscribed to stock. New machinery was bought. The board authorized production of bagging.

But it seems they were hanging on by their fingernails.

Still, the routine matters continued, the minutes show.

In 1844, Barringer declined to run for president again, and Caleb Phifer assumed the chair - and quickly ordered that board members be paid $1 a day for every session they attended.

At the 1845 annual meeting things seemed promising; directors ordered production of the new bagging goods doubled.

They also authorized the construction of a fireproof picker house, a picker being a wooden piece used in the manufacturing operation.

First Years in Black

That year the annual reports on the cotton factory showed total assets of $51,140.66, including $35,271.16 in real estate and machinery; $3,983.57 in notes due the company; $3,997.15 in goods on hand; book accounts, $7,886.76.

Debts owed by the company in 1845 totaled $13,341.77. In October, profits were estimated at $4,227.23.

Not bad for a new company in those years, when a dollar equaled 100 cents and prices were minuscule compared to today.

As late as 1847, the mill was adding buildings, machinery and fixtures.

Kiah Harris succeeded Caleb Phifer as president. And Phifer, about 1848, seems to have leased the mill operation for a year.

But by 1852 - 13 years after it had been so bravely started - the cotton was in debt $5,432.99. Recession across the state? Over-production? Unpaid accounts? Bad decisions by management?

It was the beginning of the end.

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Catalogue Information

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