LibraryAware April 2021

From the Collection April 2021: Mill Hill

In the years after the Civil War, Wilmington remained a major port from which cotton was shipped to destinations around the globe. Incorporated on 25 May 1899, the Delgado Cotton Mill became a long-standing icon of industry in the Port City. The mill was named for Dolores Delgado Stevens (1872-1947) of Charleston, S.C., wife of mill president Edwin Cameron Holt (1861-1944) seen in the first and second images, respectively, in this month's post.

Long ensconced in the state's cotton industry, the Holt family of Alamance County operated textile mills across North Carolina, becoming the largest textile barons in the Tar Heel State. One member of the family, Thomas Michael Holt (1831-1896), was a North Carolina state senator, Speaker of the House of the North Carolina General Assembly, the 47th Governor of North Carolina, and a driving force in the founding of North Carolina State University.

Covering a little over 100 acres, the Delgado Mill complex was estimated to have cost $300,000 to build, or roughly $8 million today. The mill whistle blew for the first time on 10 January 1900 signaling the beginning of mill operations. A fortnight later on 23 January 1900, the Wilmington Morning Star reported that the mill village near the factory, later referred to as Mill Hill, was home to 500 people. The Sanborn Fire Insurance Map seen here shows the footprint of Delgado Mill Village in 1915.

In 1931, the mill was bought out by a business conglomerate headed by financier Samuel Insull and renamed Spofford Mills in honor of textile magnate George Spofford. The mill operated under that name until its closing.

Although pay was low, even by early 20th century standards, the employees did enjoy certain benefits. Oyster roasts, socials, company baseball and softball teams, and even a swimming pool were all part of life at the mill village. The Spofford pool opened in 1934 for mill employees and their families when the only other pool in the Port City was at the downtown YMCA. Local amateur photographer Louis Toomer Moore captured the image of children at play in the swimming pool seen here. The mill village had its own churches, company store, clinic, and school. At the height of its operation, the mill employed 750 people.

After the mill's closure in 1967, many of the mill structures were torn down. However, the mill's office building at 2231 Wrightsville Avenue, the Delgado School at 2002 Colwell Ave. designed by Wilmington-born architect James F. Gause Jr., and the Holt's mansion at 1713 Market Street in Wilmington, all still stand. The Holt-Wise mansion is now owned by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and is used by the UNC Wilmington Alumni Association. A number of the mill houses once home to employees are also still standing in the former Mill Hill neighborhood.

Thanks to continuing work on the North Carolina Room’s Street Index Project, a partial listing of some of those who worked for the mill and where they lived can be generated. Though not intended to be an exhaustive list, the project is able to document the names and addresses of some of those who once called the mill village their home.

Freedmen's Bureau Transcription Project

Are you interested in volunteer work that will make a difference? New Hanover County Public Library is partnering with the Smithsonian Institution to transcribe digital records from the Freedmen's Bureau. Although you can get started now, the library will be having a Transcribe-A-Thon, tentatively dated for June 12, 2021, when records from New Hanover County will be made available. If this sounds like something that you would like to participate in, please visit the Smithsonian Transcription Center's website. https://transcription.si.edu/.

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