Draper Sheeting Mill with Blanket Greige Mill at r-ght
Know Your Company —Draper Sheeting M
The Draper Sheeting Mill operates some of the most
modern equipment to be found in the sheeting industry. In
its long history the mill has seen many improvements as
the company sought to keep the equipment and products
modern and up-to-date.
Built in 1915-16, it was the first new plant built by Mar
shall Field & Company after Field acquired several mills
in the Spray-Draper area that had been built by the B. Frank
Mebane interests. The old Spray Bleachery, which bleached
and finished the product, was constructed at about the same
time. To most of its early employees, the Draper Sheeting
Mill was known simply as the “white mill” because of the
white sheeting produced or the “new mill”, as opposed to
the older Blanket Greige Mill which had been acquired
earlier by Marshall Field & Company.
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The present Draper Sheeting Mill produces high quality
combed percale cotton-polyester blend sheet and pillow
case material. The complete line embraces the highest
fashion sheets and cases produced in the industry. These
include a variety of screen prints, solid colors and other
fancy items to fit both standard and oversize mattresses.
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The rolls of sheeting are shipped to the North Carolina
Finishing Company division at Salisbury for bleaching and
dyeing. Screen printing of the sheets is done at the Fore
most Screen Print Plant, owned and operated by Fieldcrest
at Stokesdale. The cutting, sewing and packaging operations
are performed at the Sheet Finishing Mill in Eden.
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Today the mill occupies 269,392 square feet, operates
44,928 spindles and 909 looms, and gives employment to
nearly 500 people. This represents more than a four-fold
expansion from the 57,830 square feet, 11,450 spindles
and 200 looms when the mill began operations in 1916.
GARLAND CHURCH — Comber tender, Draper Sheeting Card Room
Soon after the mill was built, it became apparent that it
would not supply the demand and the following year the
plant was doubled. The next large expansion came in 1937
when the sheeting operation in the Nantucket Mill at Spray
was consolidated with the Draper Sheeting Mill. The Nan
tucket employees were transferred to Draper and the
equipment was moved there.
The next large expansion came in 1947 when an addition
was built to accomodate new yarn manufacturing facilities.
Then in 1960, an addition was built to the second story of
the Spinning Department to provide space for additional
spinning frames. In more recent years, building additions
to house the employee canteens and the utilities equipment
have been added adjacent to the manufacturing areas.
For the comfort of employees and for better control of
humidity for processing, refrigerated air conditioning was
installed in the Carding and Spinning Departments in 1959.
The refrigerated air conditioning was extended to the
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ELVIRA THOMAS — Battery filler, Weave Room
the mill
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