May Hosiery Mills

In 1897, Jacob May and his family moved to Nashville and opened the Rock City Hosiery Mill. May obtained a contract to use convict labor for his mill, located inside the state penitentiary on Church Street. In 1908, May incorporated the company under a new name—May Hosiery Mills—and opened a new location next to the Louisville & Nashville railroad terminal on Brown St. in South Nashville. Jacob ran the mill with the help of his sons, Mortimer and Dan, until his death in 1946.

In the early 20th century, the mill was among the largest employers in Nashville. It employed many Jewish refugees the May family helped flee Nazi Germany in the 1930s. For much of the mill’s 88 years, its hundreds of employees, mostly women, manufactured a million socks a week. The factory supplied major department stores nationwide and made the socks worn by the NASA Apollo 11 crew. The mill ceased operations in 1985 and has since served as space for artists and businesses.