Peerless Mills and Rossville’s rich textile history
Many who grew up in Rossville have one thing in common: their grandfather used to work “at the mill.”
Richmond Hosiery Mill was one of the oldest and largest textile mills in Northwest Georgia. The mill produced socks for men and women, and a small section of the mill was dedicated to hosiery for women. The mill employed 400 women, men, and children in 1910 and 700 by 1922. This mill was the subject of Lewis Wick Hines’ historic pictorial survey of child labor in American industry.
In 1905, the same year Rossville was incorporated, John L. Hutcherson Sr. established Peerless Woolen Mills, which was the primary manufacturer for blankets for the armed forces during World War II. Peerless claimed to be the largest single-unit mill in the world by the 1950s.
In 1952, however, the Hutcherson family sold Peerless Woolen Mills to Burlington Industries. Textile workers in Rossville began to feel the strain from competition in overseas markets and voted to unionize in August 1961. Burlington industries, however, was against organized labor and made plans to close by the end of that year.
Moving forward, dozens of smaller textile-related companies purchased the plant and leased out the space. A large section of it burned down in 1967 after a fire broke out from a malfunctioning piece of equipment.
The next time you drive down McFarland Avenue, take a look out your window, as the mills are still busy from the street. It is unsafe, however, to enter the mill property, but it is viewable safely from the street. It was purchased by the Hutcherson family in the year 2012, and in 2017 was sold to Steven Henry at auction for $125,000.
Rossville was known years ago for being a hot spot for shopping and tourism. After the mill burnt down, however, things began to dip economically, socially, and developmentally. Several citizens, however, hope to change that.
Yes, many of our grandfathers worked at the mill. It was the most common workplace among locals, much like Amazon Fulfillment is today. Henry, when asked what he wanted to do with it, said in an interview with the Walker County Messenger in 2017, “I want it to be part of the ongoing efforts to revitalize Rossville.”