Great Falls Mill wall falls

By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com

* A public Facebook photo album of the site

ROCKINGHAM — An alert PeeDeePost.com reader brought to The Pee Dee Post’s attention early Monday that part of the back wall of the Great Falls Mill, which dates back to 1833, had recently fallen.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com The Great Falls Mill might not be so … great anymore.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
The Great Falls Mill might not be so … great anymore.

The site is located off U.S. Business Highway 74 just west of the intersection of U.S. Route 220 and 74 Business near Huddle House.

The cotton mill along Falling Creek was chartered in 1833 but was burned down by Union soldiers in 1865. It was rebuilt four years later but burned again in 1972.

Though privately owned and closed to the public, the site was authorized for use by Hootie and the Blowfish for an “Old Man & Me” video.

According to John L. Bell, when it closed in 1930, the facility included a five-story building, a dye house, 6 warehouses, 2 office buildings, 42 spinning frames, and 205 looms. The mill burned in 1972, but much of the ruins remained.

John Massey, Rockingham planning director, said the site would have to be considered a public safety issue before the city became involved. The situation on the property would have to be deemed an “imminent hazard,” Massey said, which is done on a “case by case basis.”

Massey noted that while the ruins are completely on private property, so, too, are the homes that the city condemns and tears down through a public process.

 

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  • Cheryl Hall

    I’ve always that it was ashamed that this building, or at least part of it, couldn’t have been preserved. I guess it won’t be long before it is just a pile of bricks.

  • rainbiww

    I use to go down there all the time and climb that wall with my grandfather.

  • http://www.carolinasignworks.com Dean Lawrence

    Cheryl…Should have been preserved ,and if we had any promotional minded people in positions of “Economic Development” or Tourism….as far back as 15-20 years ago,…This historical (Was) treasure ‘could’ have been the focal point of a great ‘Richmond County Textile Museum”…showing the heritage of all that was, the development of the mills ,how they operated. But….That ‘just’ might have generated visitors and tourism. Wonder when the Hamlet Depot will ever be promoted correctly and we get some visionary’s with real attainable ideas to make the county a destination.

  • JD

    The Hamlet Depot was NOT the remains of a 100 year old building that burned to the ground 45 years ago. Great Falls Mill collapsed in 1972, there has been no hope or no chance to preserve it since at least that far back.

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