Glencoe Cotton Mill,
Glencoe, NC
Glencoe, NC
The Glencoe Cotton Mill was begun in 1880 and was the last water-powered mill built in Alamance County
North Carolina. The mill, situated on the Haw River north of Burlington, NC, was operated by the Holt family until
1954. When the family closed the mill, it became a ghost mill and ghost town until acquired by Preservation
North Carolina in 1997. Most of the mill village homes and a barber shop have been restored and are occupied.
The Holt family opened a number of cotton mills in Alamance County during the latter part of the 19th century.
The brothers William and James Holt built the Glencoe Cotton Mill just upstream from another mill named
Carolina.
Here is an 1975 abstract from the Inventory of Historical Sites conducted for the North Carolina Department of
Archives and History and the National Park Service written by Dr. Brent D. Glass 1975 :
"WATER POWER
In adapting the water right to power the entire mill, the Holts apparently extended and deepened the mill race to
approximately 600 yards. Except for the areas around the water gates and the wheel house, the race did not
receive any structural reinforcement. It was a ditch which channeled water from the Haw River to the wheel
house, and out along the tail race back to the river. Half way along the west bank of the head race a set of gates
could be opened to dump water into a spillway running directly to the river without passing through the mill; this
spillway and gate are no longer in place. A second spillway with a manually operated gate could channel water
from the front of the head race's trash rack directly into the tail race. Water could also flow through a manually
operated gate in the wheel house before passing through the water turbine."
The mill continued to use the log and stone dam which backed up water for the grist mill's pond. The dam was
approximately 250' long and 8' high, giving a fall of 13.5'. [10] The Holts expected to draw 152 horsepower from
the fall. George F. Swain, a hydraulic engineer who studied the site in 1881, wrote "according to my estimate I
doubt if this can be done unless the pond is large." [11] The original water-power system furnished a maximum
of 130 hp to the Holt plant. [12]
In 1881 the Holts purchased a James Leffel Patent Double Turbine water wheel from Poole & Hunt Company of
Baltimore, Maryland. The Holts paid $1,896.42 for the 66" #2 water wheel, the vertical and horizontal shafts, the
gearing and the pedestals.
Below, an ad for the Company from 1887.
The Leffel Company is still in business today.
An Illustrated 128-page hand book of James Leffel's improved double turbine water wheel for 1885 and 1886
has been scanned and is available on the Internet.
From the 1880s until after 1900 the Glencoe’s operation in terms of product, size of plant, number of
employees, mode of power, machinery, and production remained fairly constant. In 1894, apparently
dissatisfied with the horsepower generated by the Poole & Hunt (sic James Leffel) 66" turbine, Glencoe
installed a new turbine. Robert Poole & Son Company, the successor firm of Poole & Hunt, offered to install a
66" Special Water Wheel providing 23% more power under the same head for $875.00. The Holts declined the
offer and ordered a 48" Cylinder Gate Victor Turbine from the Stilwell-Bierce & Smith-Vaile Company of Dayton,
Ohio. The new turbine was installed in September, 1894, in the old wheel house without altering the size or
arrangement of the flume remains in place today (1977).
Water Storage
The mill needed additional water storage for safety. Click Water Storage.
Textile Equipment
According to Glass, "The Lowell Machine Shops in Lowell, Massachusetts, furnished most, if not all, the
original spinning machinery installed at Glencoe."
"During the 1890s Glencoe probably ran its limited napping cloth operations in the cloth room on the third floor
of the Mill Building. The increased production of napped cloth necessitated the construction of additional space
to accommodate the new napping machinery. In September, 1903, Glencoe hired 0. A. Robbins & Co.,
Architects and Mill Engineers, from Charlotte, North Carolina, to design a Finishing and Napper Room. [35] The
limitations on space adjacent to the Mill Building and the limited horsepower available from the existing water
turbine contributed to the decision to build the Finishing and Napper Room adjacent to the Dye House since a
boiler and steam engine could power both the Dye House, the Finishing, and Napper Room machinery."
And more from Glass's history about the steam engine from Hamilton:
"In December, 1905, Glencoe hired Ludwig & Co., of Atlanta, Georgia, to determine the power used in the Dye
House and the Finishing and Napper Room. Ludwig found the Finishing and Napper Room utilized 20.8 hp; the
Dye House 10.83 hp; the Dynamo 3.65 hp; and 20.5 hp was lost to the total friction load in the engine and
shafting. The total power from the engine was 55.78 hp. Ludwig agreed to study additional water, electric, or
other power sources and in the mean time suggested inspecting the shafts and pulleys for signs of wear and
increasing the steam power. Ludwig also pointed out that the friction load for larger engines would constitute a
lower percent of the total power. [38] The power study may have influenced management's decision to install a
larger steam engine because in November, 1906, they purchased a Hamilton-Corliss Horizontal Non-
Condensing Engine from the Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co., of Hamilton, Ohio. The cylinder was 12" in
diameter and had a 30" stroke. With 100 pounds of steam pressure and running at 90 revolutions per minute,
the engine produced 83 hp. The band fly wheel was 9’ in diameter with a 15" face and weighed about 5,700
pounds. [39]"
Jerrie Nall and Kathy Barry acquired the office and company store and created the Textile Heritage Museum in
2004. A thread cabinet which housed J&P Coats thread in the store is just one of many original articles on
display at the museum
In 2006, Frank Gailor of Raleigh acquired the mill buildings from Preservation North Carolina and has plans to
convert the space into offices and apartments.
In 2008, the Alamance County Recreation and Parks Department created Great Bend Park with a walking trail
along the banks of the Haw River and onto the island formed by the river and the mill race.
Page Copyright Gary N. Mock 2009-2011
North Carolina. The mill, situated on the Haw River north of Burlington, NC, was operated by the Holt family until
1954. When the family closed the mill, it became a ghost mill and ghost town until acquired by Preservation
North Carolina in 1997. Most of the mill village homes and a barber shop have been restored and are occupied.
The Holt family opened a number of cotton mills in Alamance County during the latter part of the 19th century.
The brothers William and James Holt built the Glencoe Cotton Mill just upstream from another mill named
Carolina.
Here is an 1975 abstract from the Inventory of Historical Sites conducted for the North Carolina Department of
Archives and History and the National Park Service written by Dr. Brent D. Glass 1975 :
"WATER POWER
In adapting the water right to power the entire mill, the Holts apparently extended and deepened the mill race to
approximately 600 yards. Except for the areas around the water gates and the wheel house, the race did not
receive any structural reinforcement. It was a ditch which channeled water from the Haw River to the wheel
house, and out along the tail race back to the river. Half way along the west bank of the head race a set of gates
could be opened to dump water into a spillway running directly to the river without passing through the mill; this
spillway and gate are no longer in place. A second spillway with a manually operated gate could channel water
from the front of the head race's trash rack directly into the tail race. Water could also flow through a manually
operated gate in the wheel house before passing through the water turbine."
The mill continued to use the log and stone dam which backed up water for the grist mill's pond. The dam was
approximately 250' long and 8' high, giving a fall of 13.5'. [10] The Holts expected to draw 152 horsepower from
the fall. George F. Swain, a hydraulic engineer who studied the site in 1881, wrote "according to my estimate I
doubt if this can be done unless the pond is large." [11] The original water-power system furnished a maximum
of 130 hp to the Holt plant. [12]
In 1881 the Holts purchased a James Leffel Patent Double Turbine water wheel from Poole & Hunt Company of
Baltimore, Maryland. The Holts paid $1,896.42 for the 66" #2 water wheel, the vertical and horizontal shafts, the
gearing and the pedestals.
Below, an ad for the Company from 1887.
The Leffel Company is still in business today.
An Illustrated 128-page hand book of James Leffel's improved double turbine water wheel for 1885 and 1886
has been scanned and is available on the Internet.
From the 1880s until after 1900 the Glencoe’s operation in terms of product, size of plant, number of
employees, mode of power, machinery, and production remained fairly constant. In 1894, apparently
dissatisfied with the horsepower generated by the Poole & Hunt (sic James Leffel) 66" turbine, Glencoe
installed a new turbine. Robert Poole & Son Company, the successor firm of Poole & Hunt, offered to install a
66" Special Water Wheel providing 23% more power under the same head for $875.00. The Holts declined the
offer and ordered a 48" Cylinder Gate Victor Turbine from the Stilwell-Bierce & Smith-Vaile Company of Dayton,
Ohio. The new turbine was installed in September, 1894, in the old wheel house without altering the size or
arrangement of the flume remains in place today (1977).
Water Storage
The mill needed additional water storage for safety. Click Water Storage.
Textile Equipment
According to Glass, "The Lowell Machine Shops in Lowell, Massachusetts, furnished most, if not all, the
original spinning machinery installed at Glencoe."
"During the 1890s Glencoe probably ran its limited napping cloth operations in the cloth room on the third floor
of the Mill Building. The increased production of napped cloth necessitated the construction of additional space
to accommodate the new napping machinery. In September, 1903, Glencoe hired 0. A. Robbins & Co.,
Architects and Mill Engineers, from Charlotte, North Carolina, to design a Finishing and Napper Room. [35] The
limitations on space adjacent to the Mill Building and the limited horsepower available from the existing water
turbine contributed to the decision to build the Finishing and Napper Room adjacent to the Dye House since a
boiler and steam engine could power both the Dye House, the Finishing, and Napper Room machinery."
And more from Glass's history about the steam engine from Hamilton:
"In December, 1905, Glencoe hired Ludwig & Co., of Atlanta, Georgia, to determine the power used in the Dye
House and the Finishing and Napper Room. Ludwig found the Finishing and Napper Room utilized 20.8 hp; the
Dye House 10.83 hp; the Dynamo 3.65 hp; and 20.5 hp was lost to the total friction load in the engine and
shafting. The total power from the engine was 55.78 hp. Ludwig agreed to study additional water, electric, or
other power sources and in the mean time suggested inspecting the shafts and pulleys for signs of wear and
increasing the steam power. Ludwig also pointed out that the friction load for larger engines would constitute a
lower percent of the total power. [38] The power study may have influenced management's decision to install a
larger steam engine because in November, 1906, they purchased a Hamilton-Corliss Horizontal Non-
Condensing Engine from the Hoover, Owens, Rentschler Co., of Hamilton, Ohio. The cylinder was 12" in
diameter and had a 30" stroke. With 100 pounds of steam pressure and running at 90 revolutions per minute,
the engine produced 83 hp. The band fly wheel was 9’ in diameter with a 15" face and weighed about 5,700
pounds. [39]"
Jerrie Nall and Kathy Barry acquired the office and company store and created the Textile Heritage Museum in
2004. A thread cabinet which housed J&P Coats thread in the store is just one of many original articles on
display at the museum
In 2006, Frank Gailor of Raleigh acquired the mill buildings from Preservation North Carolina and has plans to
convert the space into offices and apartments.
In 2008, the Alamance County Recreation and Parks Department created Great Bend Park with a walking trail
along the banks of the Haw River and onto the island formed by the river and the mill race.
Page Copyright Gary N. Mock 2009-2011
Hamilton-Corliss Image from Techantiques
www.techantiques.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albu
mName=album32
www.techantiques.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albu
mName=album32
O.A.Robbins ad, Charlotte City
Directory 1907
Directory 1907
The Victor Turbine Water Wheel was removed by the Glencoe Electric
Company in 2008 and discarded in the front yard. A new generator
will produce hydroelectric power and be joined to the electrical grid.
Company in 2008 and discarded in the front yard. A new generator
will produce hydroelectric power and be joined to the electrical grid.
Below: James H. Holt, Sr. and Seven Sons
Right: William E. and James H. Holt, Jr., sons of
James H. Holt, Sr.
Click to enlarge
Right: William E. and James H. Holt, Jr., sons of
James H. Holt, Sr.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge these Thumbnails of Lowell Equipment
Courtesy of Peter Metzke
Courtesy of Peter Metzke
The second image on the left above is a
repositioned actual photo of the "runner".
repositioned actual photo of the "runner".
Courtesy of Peter Metzke
The image on the right above shows the
water turbine "case" with the "wicket
gates." The runner is inserted and you
have the complete turbine as shown on the
left above. In the background to the left is a
crown wheel that allows transfer of power
vertically. Thanks to Ted Hazen, Pond Lily
Mill Restorations
water turbine "case" with the "wicket
gates." The runner is inserted and you
have the complete turbine as shown on the
left above. In the background to the left is a
crown wheel that allows transfer of power
vertically. Thanks to Ted Hazen, Pond Lily
Mill Restorations
Glencoe Cotton Mill
Early 1880s
Early 1880s
Textile Heritage
Museum
Kathy Barry
Museum
Kathy Barry
Left: Glencoe Mill Plaque installed
2009
Right: The Holt home restored by
George and Jerrie Nall all decked
out for Christmas 2009
2009
Right: The Holt home restored by
George and Jerrie Nall all decked
out for Christmas 2009