Andrew Turner

Throughout the eastern United States the churning and creaking of giant water wheels could be heard all over the countryside during the antebellum time period. These massive wheels were connected to buildings whose purpose was that of production. These mills were making cloth from wool and cotton and producing various products that were demanded by the growing American and international societies. With every mill there arose a city or community if there was not already one present. In the northern United States one of the most famous mill cities was named Lowell, and it was located in Massachusetts. However, in the Southern part of the United States mills tended to be more widely dispersed throughout the southern country side. With the development of mills and industry, a social community developed containing families or individuals from certain parts of society that lived near the mill or factory. This paper will discuss the Sweet Water Mill and the city of New Manchester, as well as, the similarities that existed socially and industrially between the mills in New England. The morals and standards that existed at the mill and life at home constituted the social status of the community. It will be argued that the principles of the antebellum people and mills played a major role in developing an efficient working class that thrived in the South and in the mills of New England.

There were typically two prototypes for the establishment of mills. One way was for a single person with a few other investors producing enough capital for the mill to begin production. An example of this type of funding was found in the early mills of Rhode Island where Samuel Slater, an industrial engineer from England, helped Morris Brown. Morris Brown was a mill owner who was having trouble running an efficient mill.1 Slater continued to established many other mills with the help of investors.

The other method for establishing a mill was to receive a charter for a corporation. Francis Lowell received a charter from the Massachusetts State Legislature and with the help of a great number of investors established a mill in Waltham, Massachusetts.2 This type of funding was much safer. If the mill ever went under, the investors would only have to give up what they had invested in the business. This type of funding was similar to that of the mill at Sweetwater.

Sweetwater Mill was established by two prominent citizens of Georgia in 1846. The two men were Colonel James Rogers and former Governor Charles J. McDonald.3 The two men purchased the land for the mill from Philip Crask. Crask won the land through a public land lottery. The land that Crask won had been taken over by the state of Georgia after the removal of the Cherokee Indians.4 McDonald and Rogers started construction on the mill in 1846, and three years later the mill became operational. Before the mill opened for production, the General Assembly incorporated the mill as the Sweetwater Manufacturing Company.5 The legislature approved the corporation of McDonald, and Rogers, and associates with a capital stock not to exceed $200,000. There included a stipulation that the business could not begin operating with less than $50,000.6 The Sweetwater Manufacturing Company was sold to New Manchester Manufacturing Company for $50,000 in 1857.7 The owners of the company were Arnoldus V. Brumby and Wm. J Russell. The buildings that these companies owned contained many machines and their elaborate parts adding to the value of the building.

The most important part of machinery was the water wheel that was attached to the building. The mills in the North and South were powered by two types of waterwheels to harness the power of the water movement. The two types of waterwheel were known as the overshoot where the water would come over the top of the wheel creating momentum. The other kind of wheel was called the breast wheel. This type of wheel had the water run into the center of the wheel.8 The massive water wheels were connected to a massive shaft which ran the height the of the building. The vertical shaft was then connected by gears to numerous other shafts that ran the distance of the building providing movement and power to the machines.

The buildings in which the shafts extended were typically around the same size in the areas in which mills were built. For example, in Rockdale, Pennsylvania the mills were typically rectangular in shape and the dimensions were 41 feet wide by 61 feet in length.9 Each story was covered by many windows to allow the maximum amount of light in so workers could work proficiently. Many mill owners were very wary of working at night because the use of lanterns was very risky in a mill that contained very flammable materials. However, mill owners sometimes had to risk the dangers of fire to meet a production deadline or quota. At one end of the building, there was a stairwell for the movement of supplies and workers. The mill was usually divided by floors. Each floor contained a specific task such as sorting the cotton, spinning the cotton, and weaving the thread. Many of the mills in the north averaged between 400,000 to nearly 1.5 million yards of cloth.10 This average production exceeded the production of Sweetwater.

The mill at Sweetwater which was only in operation for 15 yrs., was five stories high and was powered by a type of breast water wheel that weighed in the range of 45,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds.11 According to the local Reverned George White the building was five stories high and 48 by 120 feet.12 These dimensions were bigger than that of the mill at Rockdale, but many of the mills were around the same dimensions of the Sweetwater Mill. The building was designed for 6,000 spindles and 90 looms.13 Many of the materials entered the building in the top where the materials would work their way down the building, being processed one floor at a time. The mill on average produced seven hundred and fifty pounds of yarn a day most of which was osnaburg. Osnaburg was a fiber that was loosely woven and resembled that of canvas.14 However, the mill also produced rope along with cloth. These mills that produced so much cloth throughout the nation employed a wide variety of workers.

Slater was a master at designing textile mills, but he had numerous problems keeping a permanent staff employed. Trying to solve the problem of an unstable workforce, Slater contracted whole families to work in the mills. This type of labor force was also found at the mills in Rockdale, Pennsylvania. The contract was agreed upon by the head male of the household or family.15 This type of patriarchal control was also present in the mills. The males would be offered jobs of supervision, farming, and construction in the mill or in the surrounding countryside. The women and children would work the long grueling hours in the mill itself.16 This system of labor was entirely different from that labor force employed in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The labor force that was hired in Lowell, Massachusetts consisted of mainly young women. The women came from respected New England farm families. The women that were employed at Lowell were trying to escape the everyday farm life that was very hard and monotonous work routine. The women were hoping to start new lives by getting a chance to start out on their own. However, this did not usually happen as planed. Many of the women would work in the mills for a small amount of time to make enough wages to buy a few things or just enough to move from their farm lifestyle. The women were provided housing at the mills and paid a daily wage. Many of the women joined social groups to discuss certain issues and to cause trouble for the management at the mills.

The number of people who worked at the Sweetwater Mill varied during production time periods, but the mill usually held approximately sixty workers. The air quality inside these mills both in the north and south was very unhealthy. For the air was clouded by heavy lint particles. It was noted that many of the mill workers at Sweetwater were trained to breath only through their noses to help decrease sickness and lung problems.17 The mill was run by men, women, and children. Children were able to work in the mill due to the new powered machines which made it easy for women and children to operate. Much of the information that was found on the workers of the mill at Sweetwater is unclear. One thing is known; when the Civil War neared many of the men did leave to fight, so much of the production had to be done by the women and children. But, needless to say some men did stay to work at the mill and were exempt from the military draft due to their role in military production. The mill workers were connected by one common bond that held true in both Sweetwater and in the mills at Rockdale the bonds of family life.

The sixty or so people who worked in the Sweetwater Mill were accompanied by their families and relatives in the nearby mill town. The mill town was named New Manchester after the name of the manufacturing company. The town supported roughly 200 people. In the middle of the town there was a company store. The main street was Sweetwater Factory Road, the road ran along side the creek, and the road continued north where it finally met the railhead in Atlanta.18 The area around the store was occupied by small wooden houses that were built by the mill company. These houses were built for the mill workers and their families. While some of the workers lived in the provided housing, others lived in the nearby countryside.

As in many of the mills throughout the country, the work period was set to begin early in the morning with the ringing of the bell. This accentuated the strictness of the mill environment. The bell at Sweetwater was located at a tower in the mill.19 The mill’s operating hours varied depending on product demand and the level of the water. When the water wheel needed repairs, this also halted production. However, when the mill was working in a regular production mode, the hours were from sun up to sun down. At the end of the workday, the workers would return to their homes in the town or countryside. Being far away from another town many of the mill workers relied heavily on the mill’s company store.

The company store was the main focus of the residents in the small town. The store was operated by Nathenil Humphries who was deemed a good manager by the company.20 Humphries also spent some of his free time making shoes and boots for members of the community for money. The store itself was three stories tall making it one of the tallest buildings in the area besides the mill. The first floor was used for the store. The second floor was used for storage, and the third floor was used for living quarters for the store owner and his family.21 The store provided for the community, selling everything from food to hardware items. The town also had a post office for the workers’ use.

The post office was the main way for families and friends to communicate with each other. Travel was infrequent for employees of the mill. The families did not have the money or time to travel long distances. One of the mill workers A.J. White was constantly writing and receiving letters from friends and relatives about everyday life and the price of goods. This excerpt from a letter that was sent to White allows an individual an insight into what a week was like as a resident.

I went to meeting last Sunday. The only time I went in time of their big meeting it commenced last Thursday night. was a week ago and left on until Sunday night there was baptizing last Sunday lots has joined this meeting."22

Sundays were very different from the average day of a mill worker. As in New England, the Sabbath was kept holy by allowing workers the day off. As mentioned in the previous letter written to A.J. White, many of the workers attended religious service, which was sometimes held in the mill itself. Other festivities that were held in the mill were those events that required a large amount of space. These events consisted of events such as weddings and baptisms. The average Sunday service lasted three or more hours followed by Sunday School.23 Sunday School taught children the basics of reading and writing. During the 1850’s, public schools began to develop in the North and South of the United States. School was mainly held for those children whose families were wealthy and could afford having the children go to school and not work in the fields or mills.

The morals of religion and family life were at times intertwined in the workers’ home and in the mill. Many of the mills were affected by the Second Great Awakening which brought the Evangelical movement and protestant faiths to the surface of communities. These religious groups condemned the many impurities of human life found during the antebellum time period such as drinking, fighting, swearing, and gambling. Many of these actions were said to be present in the industrial communities. The religious believers sought out to purify the mill towns and the workers. The impact of revivals on Sweetwater is unsure, but the mills at Rockdale were greatly influenced.

In response to the religious movement of the time in Rockdale, Pennsylvania, a Calvary church was built through the support of the workers and the mill owners.24 The church slowly grew, converting workers at the mills in the local area. By the end of the first minister’s ministry a total of 135 members had been converted.25 This large number may have been influenced by the mill owners who believed faith and family values and standards would contribute to the creation of order. In a passage of the Memoir by George White about Samuel Slater, White stated that mills took poor desperate families and instructed the children and reclaimed the family and Christianized. This statement illustrates the importance of Christian morals and standards.26

Many of these standards could be seen directly in company rules and standards which were put up for every employee to see and obey. A number of the rules implied that conduct directed to other employees and overseers should be carried out obediently and orderly. Other rules that were set forth for employees commanded workers not to smoke or drink which was heavily looked down upon. At the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, the workers were strictly given orders to obey the rules that were given for Sundays. The companies made it known publicly that if anyone was found gambling or was habitually absent from public worship on the Sabbath they would be blacklisted.27 These strict religious codes added to the moral and religious construction of mill life and work.

Many of the mills and mill villages had other ways of marking workers as disobedient. In one instance at Sweetwater, a man by the name of A.C. Tippins, a spinner, was constantly found drunk while in the spinning room.28 Many of the members of the community looked down upon this individual for his inability to control his drinking problem. When Tippins was found drunk while at work, he was immediately replaced by another spinner. Tippins was never fired because of his ability which was noted as being masterful.29 Deeming members of the community unfaithful played a major role in shaping the standards of the community. This type of social reform was very productive throughout the mill. Villages were typically concerned with those people who were not functioning as free moral agents.30 In Lowell, Massachusetts this couldn’t have been more obvious.

The girls at Lowell were heavily conditioned to follow the rules and to abide by the company standards. Having to live with each other, many of the girls were critical of each other shaping the behaviors to those that were deemed proper and correct. Their dormitory type homes where centers of self improvement. They stocked the parlors with books and literary journals.31 Having a determined motivation for self education and self improvement the girls developed a literary journal of their own. This journal was known as the Lowell Offerings. The journal was composed of letters from workers in the mill. They discussed moral issues and religious beliefs. These type of organizations let women come together to form labor groups who could voice their opinions to much of the unease of the mill owners. This issue will not be discussed in this paper. However, the role of women in society was greatly changed by the mills.

Many of the women in the mills gained a sense of independence from the patriarchal society.32 While some women at the time supported independence, others preached about their roles in society as being subordinate in the mills. The Ladies Repository a journal during the time period emphasized the duty of women in which women were to work willingly with their hands and help provide for the family.33 Some of the standards that were put upon women came directly from the Bible. The duties of the women that shaped female excellence came from Proverbs. Socially men and women brought many of their moral standards and issues into the work place proving further that the workers were being molded morally inside and outside of the mill. During the early 19th century, the residents of some of the textile towns invoked rural customary rights to deny the encroachment of mill owners.34

The personal perceptions and beliefs of the mill workers were constructed through mill codes and outside religious movements. While religion provided an outside way of coping with the hardships of the grueling workday, many workers became strong faith believers. The Christian ideologies of purity were eventually brought into the workplace making the work place, a place of ethics and morals. At times these standards were set aside to meet production quotas. The two areas of the mill workers life, the mill village and the mill itself helped develop a working class that was at most times obedient and productive. The New England mills were directly inspired by the Second Great Awakening bringing forth new churches, such as the Cavalry church in Rockdale, Pennsylvania. The Southern rural mills allowed religious activities to take place in the mill. This direct interplay between workplace and religion further emphasized the direct role of principles placed upon the worker in the mill village and work place.

Nearing the Civil War goods became hard to find and buy. Many people who lived near Sweetwater Mill even formed mobs to try to take over the mill and get needed goods and materials. The mob was armed with guns and knives. When the mob reached the mill, they were met with stiff resistance by the mill workers who managed to turn away the mob. Joseph Brown was forced to ask for assistance from the governor of Georgia.

After the Civil War, the mill of Sweetwater and the town of New Manchester was never rebuilt. Many of the workers were sent to Indiana to work in the northern mills. However, the main reason that the company did not rebuild was because of a law suit over the equipment which was inside the mill during the final fire set by Union soldiers.

1. Walter Licht, "Paths: The Unevenness of Early Industrial Development," (Chapter 2), Industrializing America.

2. Licht.,27

3. Dan, Emsweller. "Sweetwater Creek Historical Info." Park brochures and pamphlets. Douglasville: 1998.

4. Emsweller.

5. Fact sheet from state park. Fast Facts on the town of New Manchester.

6. Rosalyn, Smith. "The History of Lithia," The Austell Enterprise, 28 Sept. 1973.

7. Fast Facts on the town of New Manchester.

8. Smith, "The History of Lithia,".

9. Anthony F. C. Wallace, "The Machines, Their Operatives, and the Fabrics,"(parts of Chapter 4), Rockdale.p.130.

10. Wallace.,134.

11. Emsweller.,

12. Sweetwater Creek State Park brochure. Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Office of Information.

13. Sweetwater Creek State Park brochure.

14. Ruth, Beaumont Cook. "North Across The River: A Civil War Trail of Tears." Canada: Crane Hill Publishers, 1999.

15. Licht., 23.

16. Cook., 25.

17. Cook.,12.

18. Cook., 11.

19. King, Monroe. "Destruction of New Manchester, Georgia: The Story Behind the Ruins at Sweetwater Creek State Park." Douglasville: 1982

20. Friends of Sweetwater Creek. "History of the first Siege of New Manchester." Available from http://www.friendsofsweetwatercreek.org/NEWS1102.htm. Internet; accessed 14 February 2003.

21. Cook., 13.

22. Friends of Sweetwater Creek. "A.J. White’s letter home; June 1862." Available from http://www.friendsofsweetwatercreek.org/AJ_letter.htm. Internet; accessed 14 February 2003.

23. Friends of Sweetwater Creek. February 2003.

24. Wallace, F.C. Anthony. "Rockdale." New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. pg. 303

25. Wallace, 135.

26. White, George. Memoir of Samuel Slater (Philadelphia, 1836) pp. 113-135.

27. Dunwell, Steve. "The Run of the Mill." Boston: David R. Godine Publisher. 1978. pg. 44.

28. Direct & Cross Interrogatories. 27th March 1868. Witness Henry Loven.

29. King, 17.

30. Howe, Daniel. "The Evangelical Movement and Political Culture in the North During the Second Party System." The Journal of American History, Volume 77, Issue 4 (Mar., 1991), 1216-1239.

31. Dunwell,47.

32. Michael John Gagnon, "Transition to an Industrial South: Athens, Georgia, 1830-1870" (Ph. D. dissertation, Emory University, 1999), 199-200.

33. The Ladies Repository, Volume 4, Issue 1, Jan. 1844.

34. Lazerow, Jama. "Religion and Labor Reform in Antebellum America: The World of William Field Young." American Quarterly, Volume 38, Issue 2 (Summer, 1986), 265-286.