Sweetwater Mill

Sweetwater Mill

Industry

Sweetwater Mill has a relationship to the Sweetwater area because it is an old part of the Cherry Cotton Mill plant. The J.T. Flagg Knitting Company purchased the mill after the conclusion of World War II because the company was looking to expand because of the success the company had providing clothing for troops. During the 1960s, J.T. Flagg sold his knitting company to Genesco Textile Manufacturers out of Nashville, Tennessee, thereby transferring possession of Sweetwater Mill to Genesco. As the 1970s progressed, the textile operations of J.T. Flagg were moved from east Florence to the Florence Industrial Park before being closed down by the end of the 1970s. Sadly, the Sweetwater Mill, the last facility used from the Cherry Cotton Mill, closed about fifty years ago.

M.C. Fesmire, University of North Alabama

Text Sources:

McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003.

Picture Source:

UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Sweetwater Mill.” Florence, Alabama. Box 12: Florence Industry, 12-61.

Alabama Cultural Resource Survey

Early Twentieth-Late Twentieth Century

Image