Mill Project

THE OAKDALE COTTON MILL PROJECT

The Oakdale Cotton Mill Project was begun in 2006. Its goal is to collect and record the life histories of employees of the Oakdale Cotton Mill, which has been in operation in Jamestown since 1865. It is the oldest continuously operating cotton Mill in Guilford Co. and perhaps in North Carolina.

The immediate goal of the committee was the production of a half-hour professional grade CD that would explore the history of the mill and its employees. In addition, written survey questionnaires were distributed and informal interviews of a number of people were conducted. Scores of photographs loaned by participants were scanned. All of these materials will become part of the permanent collection of the mill project.

In July 2007, twenty-one individuals with personal or family or mill village connections gave interviews filmed by a professional filming crew hired for the week. The CD developed from this material is expected to be available by early 2008 and will be widely and inexpensively available to all who are interested. Participants will receive free copies.

The Historic Jamestown Society is sponsoring the project, helping to fund it, and supplying an officer to chair the project committee. A professional filmmaker, Mary M. Dalton, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dept. of Communications, Wake Forest University, added her expertise. Grants were obtained from several sources.

Oakdale Cotton Mill has been generous in allowing access to its plant, its employees, and to its business archives of old record books advertising materials, and photographs.

Click on the links below for some old pictures of Oakdale Mill.

Bridge

Mill with beautiful reflection

Henry Hodgin House

Oakdale Tower