The Coleman Manufacturing Company (1897–1904) had the first cotton mill in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

owned and operated by

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. Organized in 1897 by

Warren Clay Coleman Warren Clay Coleman (May 25, 1849 – May 24, 1904) was an African-American businessman in south-central North Carolina known as a founder of the Coleman Manufacturing Company, which built one of the first black-owned and operated textile mills i ...

and others, and operating under original leadership until 1904, it was located in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

area about two miles from the county seat of

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...

Cabarrus County Cabarrus County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Fieldcrest Cannon The Cannon Mills Company was an American textile manufacturing company based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, that mainly produced towels and bed sheets. Founded in 1887 by James William Cannon, by 1914 the company was the largest towel and shee ...

plant. Photographs of the mill and a description were featured in the ''Negro Exhibit'' of the United States installation at the

Paris Exposition of 1900 The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

in France, showing African-American progress in this country. In the early 21st century, the mill building, now known as the

Coleman-Franklin-Cannon Mill The Coleman-Franklin-Cannon Mill is a historic industrial complex at 625 Main Street SW in Concord, North Carolina. The recognized complex consists of ten buildings on , about west of downtown Concord. Another 4.4 acres are not included. The ol ...

, houses the production facilities of Southern Grace Distilleries, Inc. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2015.

Company established (1897)

The company was established in in Concord, south-central Piedmont, primarily by black capitalists in North Carolina, most based in its largest city of Wilmington. To promote the economic security of people of color, they intended to establish a cotton mill to be entirely managed and operated by blacks. At the time, the cotton mills in North Carolina, and the South overall, were white owned and discriminated against black workers. Managers hired blacks only for menial positions. Richard B. Fitzgerald, a major brickmaker and businessman of

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, was the company's first president; Edward A. Johnson its first vice-president (and was later president), and

of Concord was its first secretary, treasurer, and manager. The initial board of directors were S. C. Thompson, L. P. Berry, John C. Dancy, federal collector of customs in Wilmington; S. B. Pride, C. F. Meserve, and Robert McRae. About $50,000 was subscribed, which soon increased to $100,000, by "several hundred" African Americans, who mainly lived in the Concord area. A few white

philanthropists Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, such as Benjamin N. Duke, who subscribed $1,000 (at six-percent interest), also invested in the capital stock of the company.

Washington Duke Washington Duke (December 18, 1820 – May 8, 1905) was an American tobacco industrialist and philanthropist. During the American Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate States Navy. In 1865, Duke founded the "W. Duke, Sons & Co.", a tobacco ma ...

, a tobacco magnate, made two $10,000 loans to the company to get construction of the mill underway. The mill was to have between 7,000 and 10,000 spindles, and from 100 to 250 looms. According to their state charter, it was "allowed to spin, weave, manufacture, finish, and sell warps, yarns, cloth, prints, or other fabrics made of cotton, wool, or other material".Richings, G. F. ''Evidences of Progress Among Colored People''. Geo. S. Ferguson Co., Philadelphia, 1905. 483. The mill had "a 270 horse power Corliss engine there and machinery that will compare favorable with any in or around Boston".Du Bois, W. E. Burghardt (ed.). ''Economic Co-operation among Negro Americans.'' Report of a Social Study made by

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...

, under the Patronage of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, D. C., together with the Proceedings of the 12th Conference for the Study of the Negro Problems, held at Atlanta University, on Tuesday, May 28, 1907. The Atlanta University Press, Atlanta, 1907. pp. 159-160. Coleman was said to have purchased used equipment, described by one source as inefficient "second-hand English" works. This eventually caused production problems. On February 8, 1898, the cornerstone of the , three-story brick building was laid "with

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...

honors." Several four-room mill houses were built by April 1900, and were rented out at about $3 per month to the workers of the mill. Local black laborers and artisans initially accepted stock as payment for their work in construction of the mill, but most soon decided to accept only cash instead of more stock. Many workers quit due to the inability of Coleman to raise the necessary amount of cash at that time.

Building finished (1901)

The mill building was finally completed in 1901. In July of that year, Coleman informed investor

of Durham that the mill was operating successfully. Black workers were hired and had the chance to learn industrial skills. But the mill soon began to have financial problems, mostly due to the high price of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

, which reduced profits for all manufacturers. In 1902 its operations were temporarily shut down.

Mill closure (1904)

In 1904, the company was unable to remain afloat financially, and was affected by the loss of leadership when Coleman died. Mainly due to these problems, the company officers advertised the mill for sale in . It was purchased by Washington Duke of Durham for $10,000 at the "sheriff's sale." Duke sold the property in 1906 for $13,000.

Durden, Robert Franklin Robert Franklin Durden (May 10, 1925 - March 4, 2016) was an American historian and author at who worked at Duke University. He wrote books about Duke's history, journalist James S. Pike, and historian Carter G. Woodson. He was born in Graymont ...

. ''The Dukes of Durham, 1865-1929''. Duke University Press, 1975. 147.Thompson, Holland. ''From the Cotton Field to the Cotton Mill''. Ayer Publishing, Manchester, NH, 1971 (reprint of 1906 edition)

Mill structure today

The original mill structure was integrated into

Plant #9, northeast of the intersection of Main Street and Highway 601 South in Concord."White lightning set to strike Concord with moonshine distillery"
''Independent Tribune''

Legacy and honors

*Photographs of the mill and a description were featured in the ''Negro Exhibit'' at the

, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The exhibit was organized by American sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois.Gilman, N.P. "Social Economics at the Paris Exposition", ''Bulletin of the Department of Labor,'' Vol. VI, No. 34, May. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1901. 471.; Prints & Photographs Online Catalog - "African American Photos for Paris Exposition.
Library of Congress
/ref> *In 2001, the section of Highway 601 South near the mill was named "Warren C. Coleman Boulevard" in his honor. *In 2015, the

was listed on the

for its significance as the first African-American owned and operated

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in Cabarrus County, North Carolina Concord, North Carolina African-American historic places History of racial segregation in the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1897 Cotton mills in the United States 1897 establishments in North Carolina 1904 disestablishments in North Carolina Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1904 Defunct manufacturing companies based in North Carolina