Olde Mill Village (OMV)
History Snapshop

The “Stough-Cornelius Company” mercantile store, owned by Richard Stough and J.B. Cornelius, was awarded the state certification for cotton weighing. About 1890 Richard Stough and his brother-in-law, Mr. C.W. Johnston decided to open a cotton mill to turn local cotton into profit.

 

 

 

The mill was incorporated in 1891 on the now northeast side of Catawba Avenue.  As as result, our town turned into a thriving mill community which we now know as the town of Cornelius named after the financial backer of the Mill.

As was common in the industry, the Cornelius Mill furnished homes for their workers.  Typically workers labored 12 hours a day through the week and half days on Saturday.  Often the rent for homes was deducted automatically from weekly wages and paid with vouchers to be used in mill owned stores.  

The houses throughout OMV were built under the guidelines of a mill engineer named Daniel Augustus Tompkins.   His designs typically consisted of one story, side gable cottages, with two front rooms, rear kitchen ell, and shed front porch. It was common for the power to be supplied one day a week to do laundry.  Most homes did not have indoor plumbing or running water.  Some of these original Mill Homes still remain in Olde Mill Village even to today.

Cornelius Mills

Richard Stough purchased much of the cotton his store weighed and sold it to surrounding mills built after the war.  About 1890 Richard Stough and his brother-in-law, Mr. C.W. Johnston, approached J.B. Cornelius for financial backing to open a cotton mill to turn local cotton into profit.  Our town turned into a thriving mill community, which helped to

develop today’s Cornelius. The mill stayed in the family until it was sold in 1944 to Ix Corporation and later was sold to Reeves and then Foamex.   Unfortunately, the mill was demolished in the late 1990’s ending and Cornelius’s saga of small town mill village.  
   

J.B. Cornelius was a Christian man and his love for the Lord was expressed in many ways including paying for the expenses of a missionary for five years in Japan and giving financial support to a Children’s Home in Winston-Salem.    

J.B. never lived in the Towne, yet it was named  in his honor, after he died October 23, 1914 at the age of 81, for the Mill and his neighborly contributions . 

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Important Note

What we call OMV is a historic community in the midst of revitalization. Some of our residents have lived here for 35 years or more and are committed to renewal on the inside as well as the outside, both physically and spiritually. Neighbors are seeking to help neighbors through involvement in each other’s lives and interacting with local government, business and churches to bring about renewal.  If you are interested in contributing to this exciting project, to serve neighbors, provide tools and training to help us better ourselves, please contact me by visiting our Contact Us page.  Thank you and "Keep Reaching!"