Loray Mill Historic District
Why it's listed
Loray Mill, a five-story brick textile mill on the western edge of Gastonia, North Carolina, was built in 1900 and 1901 to designs by the Boston engineering firm Lockwood, Greene and Company. Its Romanesque Revival entrance tower and banks of nine-over-nine windows mark it as the centerpiece of a village of frame mill houses laid out on a grid. When completed it was described as the largest textile mill under one roof in the world, with room for about 1,000 workers. Enlarged in 1921 and 1922, it was converted from cloth sheeting to tire fabric for the automobile industry. The district is significant for its industrial architecture and for the 1929 strike centered on the mill, a major episode in labor history that drew international attention. The mill houses, mostly one- and one-and-a-half-story weatherboarded dwellings, survive with many alterations, and the district retains a high level of historic integrity.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is nationally significant for its textile mill design and technology, including its slow-burning construction and early air conditioning experiments. It also cites the mill's role in the 1929 strike, a major event in early twentieth-century labor history, tied to the 'stretch out' and related labor practices.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01001131, listed October 19, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by W. Franklin Blvd., S. Vance and S. Trenton Sts., and W. 6th Ave. B, Gastonia |
|---|---|
| County | Gaston County |
| Listed | October 19, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01001131 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1900-1935 |
| Architect / builder | Lockwood, Greene and Company, Engineers; Robert and Company, Engineers |
| Architectural style | OTHER/functional industrial Romanesque; OTHER/mill house vernacular; Bungalow; Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Social History, Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The mill is described as currently vacant but substantially intact. |
| Acreage | 55 |
| Coordinates | 35.25972, -81.19722 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01001131.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.