CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/17354
Hope Mills zip code. Only one mill still stands but the legacy remains, a legacy that dates back to the 1700s, when a large saw mill was built along Little Rockfish Creek and Rockfish Village grew around it. Later, Rockfish Manufacturing Company built one of the state’s largest cotton LOOKING BACK O By Eddie Dees nce a booming textile community, the town now known as Hope Mills was nearly destroyed during the Civil War when Sherman’s men burned the cotton mill, scorching the livelihood of area residents. Today the area is booming again, with 30,000 people sharing the mills on the creek in 1839 and the community flourished. By 1850, the Rockfish Company had capital of $131,000, almost twice the size of any other industry in Cumberland County. Then came the Civil War. On March 10, 1865, troops under the command of Gen. William T. Sherman burned Rockfish Factory, devastating the area. After much rebuilding, renovation and replacement of machinery, the mill reopened in 1872 and the factory bore the name “Hope Mill.” It wasn’t long before Rockfish Village got a new name, too. The Town of Hope Mills was chartered by the state in 1891. The first Mayor was Sim Cotton, the mill superintendent. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the heart of Hope Mills was the row of commercial buildings lining what is now Trade Street with the railroads lines behind this business district. In a time before cars, most residents lived near the city center so they could be within walking distance to work and shopping. The Hope Mills Graded School, the first school in the state built with local tax money, opened in 1905. North Carolina Gov. Robert Broadnax attended the opening ceremony and dedication for the new school. It was the only school in Hope Mills until the mid 1960s. Today there are more than 10 public schools in the community, seven shopping centers, four medical clinics and more than 25 churches. The new Mill Stone Theater is a four-star entertainment complex featuring 14 movie screens. A new Putt-Putt facility is set to open this year with a 36-hole miniature golf course, batting cages, motorized go-carts and an indoor game room.CV Ole Mill Days When: Oct. 23 Where: Municipal Park, Hope Mills What: In addition to the chili cook- off contest sponsored by the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce, town officials are planning family games, hayrides, an antique car show plus a reunion for former mill workers. How: For more information, visit www.townofhopemills. com or call 910.426.4107. CityViewNC.com | 55