The Steele Creek Historical and Genealogical Society
Of the Old Steele Creek Township
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

The Rock Island Wool Factory

THE ROCK ISLAND WOOL FACTORY

This 1849 factory was located at the end of Rock Island Road off Shopton Road West in Steele Creek. It was located on the Catawba River.

(The following article was taken from "The Hornets Nest", an old Charlotte Newspaper, dated Saturday, August 11, 1849)

"We learn with pleasure, that the proprietors of this establishment, Messrs. Carson, Young and Grier, have every prospect of doing a good business. This factory which is supplied with the finest machinery yet introduced into the country, is situated on the Catawba, ten miles south west of Charlotte. Operations have just been commenced. The value of the labor, chiefly female, is about $5.00 a day, consuming from 80 to 100 lbs of wool and producing on an average, about 200 yards of cloth, worth from 45 to 75 cents per yard. We have seen samples of this cloth; and although we profess not to be much of a judge, yet we hesitate not to say that it will prove more serviceable, and consequently more saleable than any northern cloth brought to this market. There are now about 10,000 yards unfinished, waiting for the Fulling Mill which goes into operation this week. The Fulling Mill, we learn, was built by Mr. Ramsour, the well known ingenious Mill-right of "old Lincoln";(Lincoln Co., NC) and by a competent judge who examined the work, it has been pronounced one of the most complete pieces of workmanship every constructed in this country.

The factory is complete in all the parts, having an extensive Dyeing establishment attended by an experienced and intelligent gentlemen, well skilled in the knowledge necessary to enable him to produce (..line not legible)..bright fancy and plain colors. - Lincoln Republic"

(Taken from History of Mecklenburg county and the City of Charlotte from 1740 to 1903, Vol. One, by D. A. Tompkins, Observer Printing House, Charlotte, NC 1903, p. 127)

"The Rock Island Factory began operations in February, 1848, and in April, 1852, was working two sets of cards, 480 spindles and thirty looms. At the factory, black and gray cassimeres were made, some of which were being sold in Wilmington, in February, 1851, for 87 ½ cents a yard. Tweeds, jeans and kerseys were also made, and wool was bought at 25 cents a pound."

From this writer’s research, I found that the owners of the mill were, Zenus A. Grier, R. C. Carson and J. A. Young. In the 1850 census of Steele Creek, we find Zenas Grier living near the river with his wife, Mary. Living near them was Francis Clark, age 50, Factory superintendent from Scotland. It is presumed that he is the "experienced and intelligent gentlemen" referred to in the above article. Also living next door to Zenas Grier was Robert Solomons, age 51, from Penn. And he is listed as "manager", no doubt of the mill. Zenas Grier was a descendant of Thomas Greer, son of the old James Grier from Ireland who settled in Steele Creek around 1783. Thomas was an officer in the Rev. War. He owned a large tract of land on the river near the Price land and no doubt, Zenas had inherited the land that the woolen mill was built on. The mill was moved into Charlotte around the time of the Civil War and it was there that they made some of the uniforms for the Confederate Army. On March 29, 1859, Mary, Zenas Grier’s wife, died. She was the daughter of Maj. Saml. McComb of Charlotte. The couple had 7 children and were members of Little Steele Creek ARP Church (Associate Reformed Presbyterian) It was sometime after Mary’s death that the factory was moved into Charlotte. On 9 Dec 1862, Zenas married 2^nd to Sarah L. Davidson. (From Marriages of Mecklenburg County, NC, 1783-1868, by Holcomb) The old site of this woolen mill would now be under the waters of Lake Wylie.

Although we have been unable to confirm the story, we have heard from old timers in the community that there was also a cotton factory a couple of miles on south of the woolen mill on the river. It was most likely on the Knox property, but that also has not been found.

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