Dublin Core
Title
Florence Cotton Oil Company/Ashcraft Cotton Mill/Florence Cotton Mill
Subject
Industry
Description
The Ashcraft Cotton Mill began not as a cotton mill for the weaving of textiles, but as a refinery for cotton oil. In the spring of 1898, C.W. and Erister Ashcraft founded and incorporated the Florence Cotton Oil Company. The distance of other similar facilities in Nashville, Memphis, and Birmingham, made for a lengthy treks for local farmers, hence the formation of the company and the refinery. In 1898, cottonseed had a going rate of five dollars per ton. So the elimination of distance created a rise of about 500 percent in the amount paid for local cottonseed to process into cotton oil. In the single year of operation for Florence Cotton Oil, they employed in between 50 to 75 workers. About a year later, the Ashcraft clan decided to stop producing cotton oil and start producing cotton textiles.
John T., C.W., Lee, Erister, and Fletcher Ashcraft, all brothers, in addition to Andrew J. Ashcraft, their father, formed a partnership in creating the Ashcraft Cotton Mill. The mill was located at the intersection of South Cherry and Terrace Streets in the Sweetwater area of Florence. At the time of incorporation in 1899, Ashcraft had an organized capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, then in 1900 one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, giving the company a well-capitalized beginning. One of the largest cotton mills operating in Lauderdale County, the mill had over 3,600 spindles and 100 looms ready for operation in 1899. Upon the opening of the mill in 1900, the city of Florence celebrated in grand fashion, having a large celebration for the local citizens and dignitaries with a big brass band to boot. By 1903, the Ashcraft mill was valued at two hundred thousand dollars. By 1903, Ashcraft Cotton Mill employed at least 250 men and women and provided housing for the employees. The production of the workers helped the mill use 4,000 bales of locally grown cotton annually, which the finished product was sent across North America.
In 1927, the Ashcraft Cotton Mill was renamed the Florence Cotton Mill. The Florence Cotton Mill survived the Great Depression and paid a decent wage during the economic depression at about fifteen dollars per week. Even though the mill survived the Great Depression, it could not survive the foreign textile industry and closed its doors at the end of World War II.
John T., C.W., Lee, Erister, and Fletcher Ashcraft, all brothers, in addition to Andrew J. Ashcraft, their father, formed a partnership in creating the Ashcraft Cotton Mill. The mill was located at the intersection of South Cherry and Terrace Streets in the Sweetwater area of Florence. At the time of incorporation in 1899, Ashcraft had an organized capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, then in 1900 one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, giving the company a well-capitalized beginning. One of the largest cotton mills operating in Lauderdale County, the mill had over 3,600 spindles and 100 looms ready for operation in 1899. Upon the opening of the mill in 1900, the city of Florence celebrated in grand fashion, having a large celebration for the local citizens and dignitaries with a big brass band to boot. By 1903, the Ashcraft mill was valued at two hundred thousand dollars. By 1903, Ashcraft Cotton Mill employed at least 250 men and women and provided housing for the employees. The production of the workers helped the mill use 4,000 bales of locally grown cotton annually, which the finished product was sent across North America.
In 1927, the Ashcraft Cotton Mill was renamed the Florence Cotton Mill. The Florence Cotton Mill survived the Great Depression and paid a decent wage during the economic depression at about fifteen dollars per week. Even though the mill survived the Great Depression, it could not survive the foreign textile industry and closed its doors at the end of World War II.
Creator
Matthew C. Fesmire, University of North Alabama
Source
Text Sources:
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." photos by L.D. Staggs, Jr. Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003.
“Florence As She Is.” "The Florence Times." 1903.
Image Source:
UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Ashcraft Cotton Mill." Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-36.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." photos by L.D. Staggs, Jr. Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003.
“Florence As She Is.” "The Florence Times." 1903.
Image Source:
UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Ashcraft Cotton Mill." Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-36.
Publisher
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
Date
Late Nineteenth-Early Twentieth Century
Format
Image