Majestic Manufacturing Co
Belmont, NC
Majestic Manufacturing was the third spinning mill built in Belmont by R.L. Stowe, S.P. Stowe and A.C. Lineberger. It was incorporated in September 1907. Hardly had the canvassing for stock subscriptions begun before the economic panic of 1907 began to cause people second thoughts about new investments. Never the less, the design of the mill went forward. The mill was a modern one-story brick structure, 125 x 340 feet in size. Stuart W. Cramer of Charlotte was hired as the architect-engineer in charge, and as Southern Agent for the Whitin Machine Works, the equipment was specified as Whitin. A.K. Loftin of Lincolnton was awarded the construction contract. This mill was significantly different than the other mills in the county or for that matter, the entire south. It was designed to make a much finer combed cotton yarn using the long-staple Egyptian and Sea Island cotton to make 80s to 120s. (The cotton count increases as yarn becomes finer.) It was the first mill in the southeast designed to produce ladies’ lisle hosiery yarns.
Courtesy of Peter Metzke
Posselt’s Journal reported that some 5,000 spindles were ordered. The mill opened in November 1910 with 10,944 spindles. The mill operated as a part of the Stowe family holdings. It eventually merged into Belmont Heritage in 1972. In 1989, Parkdale Mills, Inc. ,Gastonia, NC purchased these mills. In the 1990s, the mill was sold to the R.L. Stowe Mills.
Sources:
- Ragan, Robert Allison, The Textile Heritage of Gaston County North Carolina 1848-2000. Charlotte: R.A.Ragan & Co., 2001.
- Posselt’s Journal, March 1910.