Losing the Historic Praray Mill – Part 1
In this week’s Douglas Neighbor newspaper, under the City Beat section, it was reported that the Douglasville City Council “unanimously voted to remove the historic designation of the 7 acre property at 6398 U.S. Highway 78, known as the Georgia Western Cotton Mill.” Losing Georgia had already begun collecting some information on the historic mill when the Wednesday paper was released.
Intrigued by the loss of the mill’s historic recognition, Losing Georgia went looking for the answers, while still in search of the mill’s forgotten historic value. The discover of formerly published articles and the 2001 City of Douglasville Livable Center Initiative Study gave more clues of not only the mill’s historic past, but of a much vibrant future.
However the harsh reality is that such an historic place has been neglected and eventually will be forgotten about. Even the Georgia DOT overlooked the mill when it was conducting a study of the area some years ago. Unlike the situation with the 1st Lt. Robert G. Hunter Memorial, this very unique mill of the late 1800’s may be demolished due to its deterioration.
Charles Praray patent from 1894
Selma Cotton Mill
Many current Douglas County residents may not know of the mill’s history or the fact that the building on Highway 78 was a mill at all. To the naked eye the structure resembles more of a modern day warehouse. But upon closer inspection it is the triangular walls that set the building apart, making the mill historically unique in the South.
The Beginnings of the Mill’s History
It was in 1897 when local Campbell County (now Douglas) native Joseph S. James decided to bring an economic boost to the small country town west of Atlanta known as Douglasville. James was born in 1850 and grew up with his brother Charles. Joseph James was a popular man of his time, founding local newspaper The New South, helping establish the Atlanta Telephone Company, and was the first mayor of Douglasville in 1876.
Negotiations for the mill began in April 1897, with interested investors from New York and Georgia. The mill’s original name was dubbed Georgia Western Cotton. In 1898 construction began at the Bankhead Highway site with architectural plans submitted by Charles Praray.
Charles Praray was from Providence, Rhode Island, who received a patent in 1894 on his construction design called “Praray Improve System of Construction.” The system was exclusive for its time, calling for support columns and triangular outer walls on separate foundations to make the walls non-load bearing. The triangular walls also provided more natural sunlight into the working area.
Praray first used his unusual construction method in 1895 when building the Dixie Mill in LaGrange, Georgia. Then the Thomas Holt Manufacturing Company in Haw River, North Carolina, asked Praray to add an addition to one mill while constructing a new mill. Douglasville became another recipient of the construction system along with the Selma Cotton Mill in Selma, Alabama. In all, Praray designed only five mills under his patented system. The mill in Douglasville is one of at least two mills still in existence that have the Praray’s triangular walls intact.
The Georgia Western Cotton Mill did not become operational until 1905 due to delays by construction management. From an article released in 1900, it seems the cotton mill changed names to the New Century Cotton Mill, which intended to produce sheeting, duck and drill fabrics.
Mill’s of that time were small communities of their own, providing a village where workers could live and play. A church, school, staff nurse, ball field and band were some of the perks that came along with the mill community. There is evidence today that cotton mill’s village still exists.
Sometime between 1900 and 1923 is when the mill changed names once more, resulting in the Lois Cotton Mill. Both the New Century Mill and Lois Cotton Mill names are very common in local documents and newspapers. Advertisements of mill products were ran in the Douglas County Sentinel during the early 1920s.
In January 1924 the mill was sold to Mortel Mill of New York, still retaining the Lois name. Then in 1950 Glendale Mills purchased the mill for its parent company, J.L. Stifel. At the time there were 800 employees producing broadcloth, printed dress fabric and men’s sport shirts.
Sometime in the 1970s the Desto Spinner Company acquired the property, altering the look of the mill completely. The exterior red brick façade was changed to yellow, the infamous Praray windows were blocked and the front three-story tower removed. In the 1980s the mill produced yarn, forcing another name change to the Bright Star Yarn Mill.
The last known tenant of the mill was Southern Gear, a transmission remanufacturing company. A date could not be found as to when the mill was last occupied. Afterwards the mill became abandoned, left to deteriorate in hopes that someone would purchase the property.
Next week’s post will concentrate of the current status of the historic mill and what led the City Council to remove the historic recognition.
Resources
- The Heritage of Douglas County: 1870 - 2002
- Through the Mill: Documenting the Southern Textile Industry by Lisa Pfueller Davidson
Hey Andrew,
I bet you didn’t know this but my mom’s family use to work in the mills around Douglasville and Villa Rica. My grandmother has tons of stories about when she was a kid in the mill village in Villa Rica. Both of my Great-Grandparents worked in the hosery mill in Villa Rica and the house that they lived in is still out there in the village. I belive that my great-grandfather actually worked in this mill for a time when they moved to douglasville in the 60s or 70s, i’ll find out more if i can and let you know.
December 29th, 2006 at 5:38 pm