Tallassee Mills, 1844 Old Mill Road, Tallassee, Elmore County, AL

1993 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Honorable Mention
Significance: During the late 19th century, this was among the largest cotton textile manufacturing complexes in the South. It was the second mill in Alabama to be established for the production of cotton cloth. Situated to either side of the falls of the Tallapoosa River, the stone mill dates from ca. 1844 to 1898. The oldest structures lie on the west bank of the river: the two-story original mill, built in 1844 for the Tallassee Falls Manufacturing Co., and a T-shaped four-story structure (later heightened to five-stories) erected 1852-54, as the company expanded. The building became known as the No. 1 Mill when another large mill, No. 2, was constructed across the river in 1897-98. During the Civil War, cloth for Confederate uniforms was made here. In 1863 the original mill, ca. 1844, became an armory for the production of the Taladega Carbine. For the southern armies, the Tallassee Complex was one of the few Confederate ordinance facilities to escape destruction. The mill resumed normal operation during the late 1860s. Between ca. 1878-80, when a fifth floor and four-story duck mill were added to No. 1 Mill, and between ca. 1886-88, when a weave shed and picker house were also added, the complex was gradually enlarged. In 1900 the original company was absorbed by the Mount Vernon Mills conglomerate. Textile usage of the facilities on the west bank ceased in the 1960s, and in 1991 the oldest structures were sold to a group of Montgomery, AL-based speculators. The main mill, No. 1, has since been gutted of both its original heart-pine substructure and wooden window sash.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N130
Survey number: HABS AL-956