The Mills

This information was first published in 1888:

THE MILLS.

THE county abounds with fine water power and is fairly dotted with mills. The Catawba river, which sweeps her western borders, has a rapid fall and affords a water power that cannot be estimated. On the banks of this river are located five cotton factories, within twenty miles of Charlotte. The Old Rock Island Mills, where cloth for the Confederate soldiers was made, is situated on the banks of the Catawba, eleven miles from Charlotte. These mills are now owned by Hilton & Erwin, who have equipped the plant with improved machinery and turbine wheels. Here is to be seen one of the prettiest water powers in the South.