Coats & Clark Thread Mill

COATS & CLARK THREAD MILL 1931-1983. In 1931, Clark Thread Company opened a spinning mill here, giving the local economy a boost during the Depression with the creation of approximately 650 new jobs. Baled cotton was spun into unfinished thread that was then shipped to a finishing mill in Toccoa to be bleached, dyed and spooled.

Except during WWII when the company had government contracts, the only product made here was industrial thread sold to clothing manufacturers. The company merged with J&P Coats Limited in 1952 to form Coats & Clark Inc. In the early 1980s the strength of the dollar against the Japanese yen made the purchase of imported thread less costly than producing it locally, leading to the closure of the mill in 1983.