Textile Heritage Center in Cooleemee NC – Learn About Cotton Mill Town Heritage

Cooleemee Textile Heritage Museum Celebrates Cotton Mill Life © Katrena

The Textile Heritage Center, located in Cooleemee, North Carolina, has provided visitors a glimpse of a town when the cotton mill provided a way of life for many of its citizens since the center opened its doors to the public in October 1993. The museum, located inside the Zachary House in Davie County, contains the first museum dedicated to exploring and remembering cotton mill town life.

Cotton Mill Heritage © Katrena

Hundreds of volunteers from the Cooleemee Historical Association have dedicated many hours and dollars to preserving the history of a Southern town's cotton mill heritage. Approximately 330 mill houses and churches as well as the mill itself are still standing today despite the closing of the mill in 1969. Many descendents of mill workers still live in the community and are actively involved in helping to educate younger generations about a Southern way of life from days gone by.

Learn About Southern History © Katrena

The Textile Heritage Center provides a variety of educational opportunities, including:

• video interviews (over 105 hours)
• photo collection (more than 600 images)
• mill town documents (more than 400)

Zachary House in Cooleemee NC © Katrena

When entering the mill house, it is easy to imagine walking up to the wrap-around front porch of a grandparent's house although this one does have wheelchair access. Once inside, you'll see a large room resembling a living room with couches and magazines on the coffee tables.

Antiques on Display at Zachary House © Katrena

I particularly like the Our State magazine – it has amazing photographs showcasing North Carolina and some awesome stories of southern towns all over the state. The antique vases and radios are a nice touch to this area, and I also liked looking at the old sewing machine. If visiting near Christmas time, you'll find a Christmas tree in the corner, decorated with ornaments made by the kindergarteners at the nearby elementary school.

Edison Victrola and Other Heirlooms © Katrena

This area also has a piano that is sometimes used when the community comes together to celebrate, reminisce, and perhaps even enjoy some friendly competition in a fudge or cornbread contest. Take the time to look around and you'll see a wealth of detailed touches, from old books and an Edison victola to an adorable old wooden horse that probably captured the eyes of many kids in the area as its owner proudly rode the steed!

Lynn Rumley, Cooleemee Mayor, at Zachary House © Katrena

If you look to the left after entering the front door, you'll see a hallway with manikins that seem to welcome visitors to enter and enjoy. Lynn Rumley, the mayor of Cooleemee who is also the executive director of the Textile Heritage Center, may come out to greet you and will likely offer to give you a guided tour of the museum if you wish.

Learn About Mill Town Life at Cooleemee © Katrena

My kids had the opportunity to see quite a few items they had never before seen. They thought the idea of resoling one's own shoes to be quite unusual and tried to imagine how long it might take to put on a pair of boots with numerous hooks for the laces.

Cotton Mill Heritage and Education © Katrena

See thread on large spools as they might have looked as they were spun in the spinning room as well as the smaller spools in a variety of colors. Both of my grandmothers were avid quilters, and those who love to sew might particularly enjoy many of the displays such as this in the museum.

Baseball Memorabilia in Cooleemee © Katrena

I love the Cooleemee Heritage Center's personal account of working in the spinning room that was written by Ellen Tatum Young. Stories like these provide such a wealth of information that could easily fade and be forgotten without the efforts of those dedicated to preserving family history and the history of an entire town.

Textile Heritage Museum Brings Cotton Mill History to Life © Katrena

My daughters found the slate and lunch bucket with the manikin of the young school girl to be quite interesting. The Cooleemee Historical Foundation is also active in educating each grade at the nearby elementary school about the area's rich history through the Discovering Our Heritage program. Those who like to read about history may find Jim Rumley's Cooleemee: The Life and Times of a Mill Town to be a great opportunity to learn more details of the town's heritage.

Old Tools in Mill Museum © Katrena

Quite a few old tools are located in the museum. I could not help but think of my Papaw, who began building houses as a teenager. In later years, he would sometimes ask me to get a certain tool out of his van and I would often stand there scratching my head not having the faintest idea which one he wanted after looking at what seemed to be a plethora of tools that might claim the name he mentioned!

I was particularly fond of the collection of medical supplies. When comparing the crude materials of yesteryear with the high tech ones of today, I could not help but think of how compassion in care has always made such a difference in patient satisfaction. Days of home visits may have dwindled drastically, but medical professionals often went way beyond the call of duty to help their community. Of course, I had to ask the girls to guess the purpose of the old bedpan!

The nostalgic and rare photos and newspaper articles seem to tell their own story as one can see families and mill workers at work and play. Many of these items include captions that give details about the people, and Mrs. Rumley loves to give people additional details about the pictures and any of the displays. Don't miss the beautiful community quilts lining the walls in the back hall!

Old Toys in the South © Katrena

Life was not all work in this Southern town. There was plenty of room for entertainment, and the museum also hosts several musical instruments, such as a banjo and fiddle. See old marbles and learn a bit about how this game was played. The slingshot was a hit with my kids as well.

Firefighters Museum in Cooleemee NC © Katrena

If traveling to Cooleemee with kids, I'd recommend also visiting the Firefighters Museum, a tiny museum that ranks as one of the smallest around that is located just a few feet from the Zachary House. Ask for a tour of the Mill Village Museum and you'll take a short walk down to the end of the block to see a mill house decorated as if you could step back in time to see the common "modern" conveniences of the day as well as to get a nostalgic feel of life of a mill working family.

Playground at Cooleemee NC © Katrena

A fun playground is located behind the tennis courts on the same block as the Mill Heritage Center that can provide some active fun time for the climbers, sliders, and swingers in the family. Just a couple of miles a short distance from highway 801 on the Yadkin/Davie line is Riverpark, a park that showcases the Yadkin River, a few hiking trails, and several picnic areas.

Textile Heritage Education © Katrena

Learn more about Cooleemee and the Textile Heritage Center by watching this UNC-TV video on YouTube. Those wishing to visit Cooleemee's Textile Heritage Center can find more details at the official site. Find more great travel destinations on the Travel NC With Kids site map.