How Two Brothers Crafted Greensboro’s Textile Empire and Shaped the New South
Proximity Mill, the first of the Cone Mills in Greensboro, ca. 1965
Greensboro History Museum
© Carol W. Martin/Greensboro History Museum Collection
Series Introduction
This two-part series explores the remarkable story of Cone Mills—from its ambitious beginnings and meteoric industrial rise, through decades of decline and decay, to its 21st-century rebirth as Greensboro’s thriving Mill District.
From Baltimore to the New South: The Birth of an Industrial Dynasty
In 1887, two brothers from Baltimore made a $50,000 investment that would forever change Greensboro’s future. Moses and Caesar Cone, sons of Bavarian immigrant Herman Kahn—who later Americanized his surname to Cone—spent their early careers traveling throughout the South as salesmen for their father’s wholesale grocery business.
During their journeys throughout the South, the brothers uncovered an opportunity that would change the fabric of southern industry. They noticed on their sales trips that southern mill owners, often in strained financial circumstances, would barter cloth for groceries. The Cone brothers found they were able to sell these bartered textiles for a profit while simultaneously gaining intimate knowledge of the Southern textile industry’s potential and problems.
By 1890, Moses and Caesar Cone had liquidated their father’s business and established the Cone Export and Commission Company in New York City. This was no mere business venture; it was a strategic plan to organize the chaotic Southern textile market. By the mid-1890s, they were brokering fabric for nearly 90 percent of all Southern textile mill owners.
Choosing Greensboro: Strategic Site Selection
In 1893, the Cones moved their company headquarters to Greensboro, North Carolina, a location chosen through sophisticated site analysis. Seven railroad lines converged within the city, providing unparalleled connectivity. Additionally, freight costs were lower than in northern cities, and land was affordable. However, the most critical factor was Greensboro’s embodiment of America’s new vision for southern enterprise, an industrial revolution to replace agriculture as the region’s economic driver.
Weave room at Revolution Mill, June 5, 1948
Greensboro History Museum
© Carol W. Martin/Greensboro History Museum Collection
Textile Empire Timeline
1895 – Proximity Cotton Mill
The brothers took the leap from textile brokers to manufacturers when they opened their first facility, Proximity Cotton Mill, a 200-loom denim factory named for its proximity to raw materials. The mill’s success in producing durable denim for work clothes led to the expansion of the Cone manufacturing enterprise.
1899 – Revolution Mills
They opened Revolution Mills in partnership with the Sternberger Brothers, the South’s first flannel mill fully equipped with bleachery and dye-works. By the 1930s, this venture would become the largest flannel mill in the world and lead to the development of the mill village of Revolution, complete with housing, schools and community amenities.
1905 – White Oak Cotton Mill
The brothers’ crowning achievement would come in 1905 with the creation of White Oak Cotton Mill, the future home of the Levi Strauss “Golden Handshake” partnership in 1915, making Cone Mills the world’s denim leader.
1912–1913 – Printworks Mill
The final step in the Cone brothers’ expansion was the opening of Printworks Mill between 1912 and 1913. The first textile printing facility in the South, this addition completed the brothers’ vertically integrated ecosystem and solidified their textile empire.
Aerial view of Revolution Mill, ca. 1920sGreensboro History Museum© Carol W. Martin/Greensboro History Museum Collection
Innovation, Leadership and Community
Cone Mills wasn’t just big; it was innovative. The Touchstone Dye Apparatus perfected indigo dyeing, while Dyemaster Floyd Virgil Hayes standardized the world’s first reliable indigo formula.
At Their Peak:
- 450 acres of mill village development
- Approximately 2,675 workers employed
- More than 1,500 homes provided
- Integrated schools, churches and community amenities
These were self-sustaining communities decades ahead of their time.
Baseball game at Cone Athletic Park, ca. 1908Greensboro History Museum Bernard Cone/Greensboro History Museum Collection
Economic Impact and Legacy
By 1908, Cone Mills had become the world leader in denim production. The mills provided Greensboro’s economic backbone and helped define its identity for the next century.
At its height, roughly 40 percent of North Carolina’s workforce was employed in textile production. The Cones proved that Southern industry could rival and surpass Northern factories.
Next in the series:
Part 2 - Decline and Revitalization: How Greensboro’s Textile Heartbeat Was Reborn