Alert! Alert! Alert!
If you are interested in historical homes, historical areas or just history in general, then you have come to the right place to get started. Alamance County is chock full of wonderful hidden gems. One only need to drive a short distance to enjoy the changing industrial landscape.
When we arrived in our new home, our leasing agent (Hi June!) gave us a special community section of the newspaper designed just for us out-of-towners. One of the communities was Glencoe Mill Village. There is quite a story behind this gem.
We added this community to our list of 'must explore' and I had not really thought much more about it since things have been so busy. But, alas, we wound up there a couple of weeks ago.
Talk about an intersting place! Holy cow! It's truly like walking back in time. A time when the mills were chugging along on hydro-electric power, the shipping bays were full and the town was a bustling little hub of commerce.
As happens with the pains of modernization and global trade agreements, the mills have closed over the years. But the history is still there. And you can feel it when you walk the streets and venture down the dirt lanes between the mills. You can hear the buildings telling you of their glory. How they had employed so many of the locals and how the local folks took such pride in the products they were putting out. Then, with the shift of the sun, the conversation will end. Only the whispers of the breeze will be audible.
Since I am also a huge photography buff it was no surprise that a camera was hanging around my neck. I truly wanted to catch the character of Glencoe Mill Village. The sense of a simpler time fraught with hard work and long hours. A time when many would walk home from work, waving and speaking with neighbors along the way. A time when neighborhoods were important and there were no strangers on the street.
Glencoe Mill Village is located 3 miles north of Burlington, NC on the Haw River. The original village was established on a 95 acre site between 1880 and 1882
Glencoe Mills was built on the site of an old sawmill and gristmill. The name Glencoe comes drom a site in Scotland where the infamous 17th century massacre involving the McDonald clan took place.
Glencoe Mills was one of 17 cotton mills that, by 1890, had made Alamance County the leading cotton manufacturing center in the state in terms of looms and spindles.
Glencoe Mills closed its doors in 1954. According to Preservation North Carolina it is one od the most undistrubed mill and village complexes in North Carolina.
Glencoe Mill Village is a rare find. The homes are restored and renovated so as to maintain that ambiance that made it so special.
So sit back and enjoy a few photos of Glencoe Mill Village. If you're already in the area, make sure to get by there and re-live the glory days. If you're coming from out of town, don't hesitate to call me. Playing tour guide is one of my favorite things.
*********INVESTOR ALERT*************
There is currently 22 acres for sale in Glencoe Village. If you know someone that would be interesting in a historical development program, then have them contact Preservation North Carolina.
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