Date of Award

5-2010

Document Type

Terminal Project

Degree Name

Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP)

Department

Planning and Landscape Architecture

Abstract

Textile mill villages were once vibrant neighborhoods at the height of the textile age, but today they are often reduced to neighborhoods of deteriorated housing and vacant lots. Such is the case with New Holland Village. When Pacolet Manufacturing Company (Milliken & Company, today) opened its New Holland cotton mill in 1901 just outside Gainesville, Georgia the region was largely agricultural (Sawyer, 2001). The mill, like most mills around the country at the time, drew upon the large number of farmers wanting to trade a hard life on the farm for a more comfortable and stable life in a textile mill (Sawyer, 2001). Unlike most textile mills at the time that were built in or near population centers, the New Holland mill was built two miles outside of Gainesville. Slow transportation, in the form of horse and buggy, made commuting to work impractical. Therefore, Pacolet built a village to house its workers and their families.

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