Loray Mill Project

Using 1920 census enumerations and the 1922 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of the area, the DIL is “reconstructing” the Loray Mill Village as it was in the early 1920s. This was an important moment in the history of the mill and its community. To accommodate the additional workforce required by the expansion of the mill’s capacity, more than 150 new houses to the mill village. These new houses adapted the bungalow style, replacing the older Southern vernacular style that characterized the houses built in the early 1900s. Two brick dormitories (one for men; the other for women) and a cafeteria were built just north of the mill. Jenckes also added a number of “welfare” amenities: a community center, playground, and swimming pool, among them. Welfare workers were brought down from New England to develop health and educational programs for families living in the mill village. The village grew to more than four hundred houses and more than 3000 residents.