{"nrhp_refnum":"83001921","name":"Falls of the Neuse Manufacturing Company","other_names":["Manteo Manufacturing Company","Forest Manufacturing Company"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Neuse River at SR 2000","address_restricted":false,"city":"Falls","county":"Wake County","state":"NC","lat":35.93895450100007,"lon":-78.57859110499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A granite mill complex on the west bank of the Neuse River at Falls, Wake County, North Carolina, with a three-story main mill, a one-story picker room, and a 400-foot stone dam. The main building was built in 1854-1855 as a paper mill.","why_significant":"The complex stands at one of North Carolina's oldest manufacturing sites and was powered by the natural falls of the Neuse River. Its chief period of significance was its 1855-1896 operation as a paper mill, described as the only significant paper producer in eastern North Carolina and one of the largest in the state. It later operated as a cotton and synthetic yarn mill.","narrative":"Granite buildings beside the Neuse River at Falls, Wake County, mark one of North Carolina's oldest manufacturing sites. The main mill, three stories tall and about 200 feet long, was built of local granite in 1854-1855 for the Manteo Manufacturing Company as a paper mill. A smaller one-story granite building served first as a stock room and later as a picker room. A 400-foot stone dam and a millrace supplied water power from the natural falls. From 1855 to 1896 the mill made rag paper, supplying state government and most eastern North Carolina printers under William F. Askew. A flood in 1896 wrecked the plant, and the building was remodeled for cotton processing in 1899. Textile production continued under several owners until Erwin Mills closed the plant in 1959. The building was later used as a cotton warehouse, and a 1983 owner planned to convert the granite buildings to residences.","period_of_significance":"1855-1896","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Unoccupied at the time of nomination; last used as a cotton warehouse after Erwin Mills closed the plant in 1959. A 1983 purchaser intended to convert the granite buildings into residences.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.174741-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/7224/47722457/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83001921.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001921/c3288716ba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001921/c3288716ba-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Paultbarham","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erwin_Mills_1956_Pay_Stub,_Falls,_North_Carolina.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Paultbarham</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erwin_Mills_1956_Pay_Stub,_Falls,_North_Carolina.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722457","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_the_Neuse_Manufacturing_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20709141"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/wake-county/falls-of-the-neuse-manufacturing-company-83001921/"}