{"nrhp_refnum":"05000319","name":"Washington Mills-Mayodan Plant","other_names":["Mayo Mills","Washington Group-Mayodan Plant","Tultex Corp.-Mayodan Plant"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"7801 NC 35","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mayodan","county":"Rockingham County","state":"NC","lat":36.408965638500035,"lon":-79.96566967462954,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-04-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ten-acre textile mill complex on the west bank of the Mayo River in Mayodan, Rockingham County, North Carolina, with an 1895 spinning mill and a 1911 knitting mill plus ancillary buildings. It was founded as Mayo Mills and later operated as Washington Mills and Tultex.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the plant as representative of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century industrial growth of Rockingham County and North Carolina, driven by railroads and the New South belief in manufacturing. It was established by Francis H. Fries and investors, and led to the creation of the mill town of Mayodan. The two brick heavy-timber mills, expanded through 1954, show how the plant grew from yarn spinning into knitting and dyeing.","narrative":"Textile production began on this ten-acre site beside the Mayo River in Mayodan in 1895, when Mayo Mills was built to spin cotton yarn. The company was organized by Francis H. Fries with investors including Washington Duke, and it began operating in April 1896 with two water wheels fed by a two-thirds-mile canal. The complex later became Washington Mills, then Tultex, and closed in 1999. Two large brick mills remain: the 1895 spinning mill, expanded between 1897 and 1954, and the 1911 knitting mill, extended three times between 1931 and 1941. Both use heavy timber framing, segmental-arch windows and little ornament. A boiler room, engine house, warehouses and other support buildings complete the group. The nomination treats the plant as an example of North Carolina's late nineteenth-century industrial growth, which depended on railroads and the idea that manufacturing could replace farming as the state's economic base. The mill also prompted the founding of Mayodan as a company town.","period_of_significance":"1895-1954","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Heavy Timber Mill Construction","criteria":[],"status_note":"The plant closed in 1999. The spinning mill is described as in good condition, with its machinery removed and its windows infilled. Current functions are listed as vacant/not in use, with some office and warehouse use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:53.586803-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/23/7220/47722023/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/05000319.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000319/b9653afd93-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000319/b9653afd93-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Indy beetle","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mayo_Mills_remains.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Indy beetle</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mayo_Mills_remains.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722023","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Mills-Mayodan_Plant","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22061121"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/rockingham-county/washington-mills-mayodan-plant-05000319/"}