Pearl Cotton Mills records

Collection

Identifier: NCC-0135

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Pearl Cotton Mills Records consist of financial records documenting the running of the mills from 1918-1930.

Dates

1918 - 1930

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.

Biographical / Historical

Brodie Duke built the Pearl Cotton Mills in 1892, naming it after his daughter. After financial complications in 1893, his father Washington Duke, his two half brothers Benjamin and James B., and George Watts helped him reestablish the company. William Branson managed the mill until his death in 1899, when Jessie Harper Erwin took over. Owned by Erwin Mills after 1899, the mill became Erwin Mill #6 in 1932. It shut down in the 1950s and was demolished in 1971 to make way for condominiums, though the original tower and smokestack were incorporated into the new structure.