{"nrhp_refnum":"83001838","name":"Odell-Locke-Randolph Cotton Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Buffalo, Church, Peachtree, and Locust Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Concord","county":"Cabarrus County","state":"NC","lat":35.41843377650005,"lon":-80.59031416654341,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-03-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former cotton mill complex at the north end of Union Street in Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, comprising three principal mill buildings dated 1882, 1899 and 1909 and nine supporting structures. The complex began as the Concord Manufacturing Company mill founded in 1840 and was operated by several textile firms until 1974.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is the birthplace of Cabarrus County's textile industry and the county's most significant historic industrial site. It is associated with industrialist John Milton Odell, who drove the county's late nineteenth-century textile growth, and it is an excellent and relatively unaltered example of late nineteenth and early twentieth century textile mill design.","narrative":"Located at the north end of Concord's Union Street, the Odell-Locke-Randolph Cotton Mill complex consists of three main brick mill buildings dated 1882, 1899 and 1909, plus nine supporting structures. The site has housed four textile enterprises from 1840 until 1974, interrupted only by a four-year closure after the financial panic of 1873. The Concord Manufacturing Company erected the original mill in 1839 or 1840, one of the earliest steam-powered cotton mills in North Carolina. John Milton Odell reopened the plant in 1877 and expanded it into one of the state's largest industrial complexes. The 1882 building is the oldest surviving structure and has a tower enclosing the stair, a practice required by factory insurers. The 1899 building has an impressive three-stage tower with a water tank for fire emergencies. The complex is significant for its role in launching Cabarrus County's textile industry and for its well-preserved mill architecture.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Vacant since the mill closed in 1974; a group of realtors purchased the complex at auction in November 1979 and was exploring rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:42.202979-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/7193/47719355/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83001838.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001838/4e85b1480d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001838/4e85b1480d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cecouchman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CabarrusNC_LockeMill_0582.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cecouchman</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CabarrusNC_LockeMill_0582.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86000789","name":"North Union Street Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/north-union-street-historic-district-86000789/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719355","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odell-Locke-Randolph_Cotton_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18155324"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/cabarrus-county/odell-locke-randolph-cotton-mill-83001838/"}