Imagine Rocky Mount Mill Tours! I would be first in line to buy a ticket. And I’m not alone. Anyone who read the “Our State” NC Magazine, February, 2013 issue on Rocky Mount, and specially the segment on the Rocky Mount Mills, felt the passion in John Mebane’s words. His passion would tempt anyone to travel to Rocky Mount to drive by the proud Mill sitting next to the Tar River. John was the sixth-generation president, and he was the last. I know the property is owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company out of Raleigh. However, their plans to do extensive renovations continue to be on hold. Current projected plans from CBC represent a significant investment. If there were negotiations between Rocky Mount and the owners and manager of the Mill to do just enough renovations to turn the Mill into a touring-type attraction, it would be substantially less expensive. The main attraction is there! Code and safety issues required to conduct tours would be the next step. Imagine how many tourists have driven by and longed to tour the building. And it’s no wonder with her stats: 300,000 square feet, employed 1,000 working in three shifts, which kept the mill open 24 hours a day, spinning cotton into yarn on nine lines of spinning frames, and produced 500,000 pounds of yarn a week. The article also reveals the generators in the basement, where one can hear the sound of power. A six-foot wide tube runs through the floor. The tube starts at the Tar River, just outside the building and runs down into the large tub with fins inside. The rushing water process turns the force into electricity. One of the three generators can produce 310 kilowatts of power. Together they could have powered most of the operating at the Rocky Mount Mills in its heyday. There’s no need for Rocky Mount and CBC to wait for grand renovations to take place in the future when a smaller scale tourist attraction could become a reality in the nearer future. – Hilarie Vetere
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 18:48:18 +0000
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