Leaksville Cotton Mill

Leaksville Cotton Mill (HM16TY)

Location: Eden, NC 27288 Rockingham County
Buy North Carolina State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 36° 30.283', W 79° 45.599'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 1736 views
Inscription

Cloth for Sale

— Confederate Lifeline —

Former Gov. John Motley Morehead built the Leaksville cotton factory here in 1839. Water from the nearby Smith River rapids powered the stone mill. In May and June 1861, the factory furnished 1,700 yards of osnaburg (a coarse, strong cloth developed in Osnabruck, Germany, by the 16th century) for uniforms for Confederate infantry companies commanded by Capts. John H. Boyd, Thomas T. Slade, and Giles P. Bailey. That winter, the factory also made 500 twelve-man tents for the Confederate forces. Known as Sibley tents for their inventor, Gen. Henry H. Sibley, who sided with the Confederacy, they were also called "bell" tents because of their shape.

When authorities ordered additional cloth from Morehead, he refused even after they threatened to confiscate the mill because sales to civilians were more profitable. After the younger male employees were conscripted into military service, Morehead used older men, women, children, and slaves to manufacture cloth. He finally closed the mill when all able-bodied men under fifty were forced to serve. Morehead later convinced Confederate authorities to detail two older men to work in the mill and resumed the production of cloth for sale to civilians.

After Morehead died in 1866, his son James Turner Morehead managed the Leaksville factory. The original structure burned in 1893, and a brick mill was built on the site using the rock from the old building as a foundation. The mill was demolished in 1992, leaving only the stone foundation.
Details
HM NumberHM16TY
Series This marker is part of the North Carolina Civil War Trails series
Tags
Placed ByNorth Carolina Civil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 5:36pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 611045 N 4040646
Decimal Degrees36.50471667, -79.75998333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 36° 30.283', W 79° 45.599'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds36° 30' 16.98" N, 79° 45' 35.94" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)336
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 422 Church St, Eden NC 27288, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Calcium Carbide
0.04 miles
Barnett Canal
0.04 miles
Luther H. Hodges
0.48 miles
Annie Eliza Johns
0.89 miles
"Land of Eden"
0.9 miles
"Land of Eden"
0.96 miles
Land of Eden
0.96 miles
"River boat Men: Dan River, 1792 - 1892"
1.04 miles
Leaksville Landing
1.3 miles
Dan River
1.32 miles
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. What year was the marker erected?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?