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A More Perfect Union

The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Frankie Welch stands in front of her Duvall House in Alexandria Virginia.

Frankie Welch

Frankie Welch wearing a Cherokee Alphabet dress in front of Duvall House, Alexandria, Virginia, 1968.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch Cherokee Alphabet scarf, 1967, silk

Cherokee Alphabet Scarf

Cherokee Alphabet scarf, 1967, silk.

Frankie Welch Discover America scarf, circa 1968, unidentified fabric

Discover America Scarf

Discover America scarf, ca. 1968, unidentified fabric.

Frankie Welch Hubert H. Humphrey campaign scarf, 1968, silk

Hubert H. Humphrey Campaign Scarf

Hubert H. Humphrey scarf, 1968, silk.

Frankie Welch Hubert H. Humphrey campaign dress, 1968

Hubert H. Humphrey Campaign Dress

Hubert H. Humphrey dress, 1968.

Courtesy of Ashley Callahan

Flyer for the Frankie dress by Frankie Welch, circa 1975

Frankie Flyer

Frankie flyer, ca. 1975.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch Basket Weave Frankie and Turtles Frankie dresses

Basket Weave Frankie and Turtles Frankie

Basket Weave Frankie and Turtles Frankie, n.d.

Frankie Welch Republican National Convention Frankie dress and pinafore, 1968

Republican National Convention Frankie and Pinafore

Republican National Convention Frankie and pinafore, 1968.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, (left) Frankie Welch Collection, Rome Area History Center and (right) Frankie Welch Textile Collection, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.

Models wearing Frankie Welch Clyde’s scarf and tie, ca. 1976

Clyde’s Scarf and Tie

Models wearing Clyde’s scarf and tie, ca. 1976.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch Fifty State Flowers scarf, 1970, cotton

Fifty State Flowers Scarf

Fifty State Flowers scarf, 1970, cotton.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C., scarf, 1970, unidentified fabric

National Cherry Blossom Festival Scarf

National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C., scarf, 1970, unidentified fabric.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Frankie Welch Collection, Rome Area History Center.

Frankie Welch of Virginia scarf, 1969, silk

Frankie Welch of Virginia Scarf

Frankie Welch of Virginia scarf, 1969, silk.

Frankie Welch Member of Congress scarf, 1969, silk

Member of Congress Scarf

Member of Congress scarf, 1969, silk.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Frankie Welch Collection, Historic Clothing and Textile Collection, College of Family and Consumer Science, University of Georgia.

Frankie Welch Washington, D.C. scarf design, circa 1978

Washington, D.C. Scarf Design

Washington, D.C., scarf design, ca. 1978.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch McDonald’s scarf, 1976, Qiana

McDonald’s Qiana Scarf

McDonald’s scarf, 1976, Qiana.

Courtesy of Ashley Callahan

Frankie Welch McCormick scarf, 1977, Qiana

McCormick Qiana Scarf

McCormick scarf, 1977, Qiana.

Frankie Welch McCormick scarf, 1978, polyester

McCormick Scarf

McCormick scarf, 1978, polyester.

Frankie Welch Red Cross napachief, 1981, unidentified synthetic fabric

Red Cross Napachief

Red Cross napachief, 1981, unidentified synthetic fabric.

Frankie Welch National Treasures (Mount Vernon) scarf, 1993, silk

National Treasures Mount Vernon Scarf

National Treasures (Mount Vernon) scarf, 1993, silk.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch BB&T bandana, cotton

BB&T Bandana

BB&T bandana, n.d., cotton.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Betty Ford and Frankie Welch

Betty Ford and Frankie Welch with the Betty Ford scarf, 1975.

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

Frankie Welch Betty Ford scarf/scarves, 1975, Qiana

Betty Ford Scarves

Betty Ford scarf/scarves, 1975, Qiana.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Color photograph of designer Frankie Welch, 1987.

Frankie Welch

Frankie Welch, 1987.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Photograph of University of Georgia scarf for the President's club designed by Frankie Welch

University of Georgia Scarf

University of Georgia scarf for the President’s Club, 1982, polyester.

Courtesy of Ashley Callahan

Frankie Welch Garden Club of Georgia scarf, 1978, polyester

Garden Club of Georgia Scarf

Garden Club of Georgia scarf, 1978, polyester.

Frankie Welch Tobacco Institute scarf, 1978, cotton.

Tobacco Institute Scarf

Tobacco Institute scarf, 1978, cotton.

Frankie Welch Turtles scarf, designed ca. 1971, Qiana

Turtles Qiana Scarf

Turtles scarf, designed ca. 1971, Qiana.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch Thirteen Original States scarf, designed 1975, Qiana

Thirteen Original States Qiana Scarf

Thirteen Original States scarf, designed 1975, Qiana.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch National Press Club scarf, 1973, unidentified fabric

National Press Club Scarf

National Press Club scarf, 1973, unidentified fabric.

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries, Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure.

Frankie Welch Peanut scarf for Governor and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, 1973, silk

Peanut Scarf

Peanut scarf for Governor and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, 1973, silk.

Courtesy of Ashley Callahan

Frankie Welch scarf for the inauguration of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, 1980, polyester

Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush Inauguration Scarf

Scarf for the inauguration of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, 1980, polyester.

Frankie Welch Georgia Libraries Association scarf, 1971, Qiana

Georgia Libraries Association Qiana Scarf

Georgia Libraries Association scarf, 1971, Qiana.

Carpet Machine

Carpet Machine

While the introduction of new machinery to textile factories in the 1970s resulted in workforce reductions across the state, the carpet industry of north Georgia weathered such changes, producing around 80 percent of the world's carpets in the twenty-first century.

Courtesy of Carpet and Rug Institute

Hosiery Mill

Hosiery Mill

A hosiery mill at Union Point, in Greene County, produces socks in 1941. Textile mills in Georgia began producing a variety of cotton products, including hosiery, carpet yarn, and twine, after 1900.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Young Mill Worker

Young Mill Worker

A young girl, pictured in 1909, works as a spinner in a Georgia cotton mill. Children were a signficant presence in the state's textile mills, accounting for 24 percent of the workforce in 1890.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

New Manchester Mill Ruins

New Manchester Mill Ruins

During the Civil War, Union forces burned the New Manchester Manufacturing Company on July 9, 1864. Today its ruins lie in the Sweetwater Creek State Park in Douglas County. The creek, mill ruins, and surrounding land were preserved by the Georgia Conservancy in the late 1960s.

Image from Travis Hudgons

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Seal of the Trustees

Seal of the Trustees

One face of the seal adopted by the Georgia Trustees features a silkworm, mulberry leaf, and cocoon, representing their hopes that the colonists would establish a thriving silk industry. The Latin motto Non sibi sed aliis  translates as "Not for self, but for others."

Mulberry Tree

Mulberry Tree

The white mulberry tree (Morus alba) was introduced to Georgia in 1734, when James Oglethorpe established the Trustee Garden in Savannah. Mulberry leaves are used to feed silkworms, which the colonists raised to make silk for shipment to England.

Photograph by Wikimedia

Chattahoochee River

Chattahoochee River

The Chattahoochee River flows through Columbus, one of the cities located along the fall line marking the boundary between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain geologic provinces. The hard rocks of the Piedmont form outcrops that create rapids and waterfalls along the fall line.

Photograph by andrewI04 

Whitehall Mill Store

Whitehall Mill Store

The Whitehall Mill Store (1850) served the employees of the Georgia Factory, which opened in Athens in 1829. In 1835 Whitehall, the state's first mill village, was established near the factory, on the banks of the North Oconee River. The two-story brick shotgun building features a romanesque facade topped by a two-level battlement.

Courtesy of Owens Library, School of Environment and Design, University of Georgia, John Linley Collection.

New Manchester Mill Ruins

New Manchester Mill Ruins

The ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company, a textile mill burned during the Civil War, are located at Sweetwater Creek State Park, in Douglas County. The mill, one of the largest factories in Georgia, was destroyed in 1864 by Union general William T. Sherman's troops during their march to the sea.

Photograph by Evangelio Gonzalez

Eagle and Phenix Mills

Eagle and Phenix Mills

Eagle and Phenix Mills, built in Columbus around 1868, was eventually acquired by the W. C. Bradley Company, which was founded in 1895 by financier and philanthropist W. C. Bradley. In 2003 the company began a redevelopment project on the old mill site.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Engineering Record, #HAER GA,108-COLM,17-19.

Laurel Woolen Mill

Laurel Woolen Mill

Workers gather in front of the Laurel Woolen Mill in Roswell, circa 1890. The state's textile industry experienced strong growth during the last decades of the nineteenth century, with many northern investors choosing to locate mills in the South.

Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
ful0525.

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Mill Houses

Mill Houses

Mill houses line a street in Dalton, circa 1930. The carpet and textile industries in the city began in the late nineteenth century with the tufted bedspreads of Catherine Evans Whitener and by the 1940s had developed into a mechanized industry in Whitfield County.

Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
wtf013a.

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Callaway Mills

Callaway Mills

Workers at the Callaway Mills in LaGrange operate weaving machinery, circa 1930. The mills were founded by Fuller Callaway Sr., who operated a number of profitable mills in LaGrange in the early twentieth century.

Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
trp252.

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Crown Cotton Mill

Crown Cotton Mill

Crown Cotton Mill No. 2, located on Chattanooga Avenue in Dalton, is pictured in the late 1920s. Established in 1884, Crown Cotton Mill brought much-needed economic activity to Whitfield County and by 1916 employed 1,000 workers.

Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #
wtf014b.

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Textile Strike

Textile Strike

Striking textile workers outside the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill, 1934. Despite promises of reform made after the General Textile Strike of 1934, conditions in many mills did not improve until 1941, when the United States entered World War II.

Cotton Mill Worker

Cotton Mill Worker

A mill worker is pictured in October 1941 at the Mary-Leila Cotton Mill in Greensboro. Mills in Georgia were profitable during World War II (1941-45), producing such items as nylon and silk, as well as life rafts and uniforms for the war effort.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

Thomaston Mills

Thomaston Mills

Employees of Thomaston Mills work in the plant during the late 1990s. Thomaston Mills was a major employer in Upson County from its beginning in 1899 until 2001, when the company declared bankruptcy.

Courtesy of Thomaston-Upson Archives

Banning Mill

Banning Mill

Banning Mill, initially known as Bowen's Mill, was founded along Snake Creek in Carroll County during the 1840s. Until its closure in 1971, Banning Mill was the oldest continuously operated mill in Georgia.

Photograph by Ed Schipul

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Callaway Mills Strike

Callaway Mills Strike

Mill workers went on strike at Callaway Mills in LaGrange during the General Textile Strike of ’34, along with approximately 44,000 others in Georgia.

Courtesy of Troup County Archives

Porterdale Mill

Porterdale Mill

In 1916 Bibb Manufacturing Company opened the Osprey Mill in Porterdale. Bibb was an important part of Georgia's cotton and textile industry for more than a century and became one of the state's largest employers by the mid-1950s.

Columbus Mill

Columbus Mill

The Columbus Mill was built by the Bibb Manufacturing Company in 1900 on the banks of the Chattahoochee River. Eventually the cotton mill grew to be the largest in the country, supporting a mill town known as "Bibb City."

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Engineering Record, #HAER GA,108-COLM,27-10.

Free Kindergarten

Free Kindergarten

The Bibb Manufacturing Company, founded in Macon in 1876, opened mills in a number of Georgia communities by the end of the nineteenth century. In 1905 the company opened a free kindergarten in Covington, believed to be the first such program in Newton County.

Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #new142-83.

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Forsyth Mill

Forsyth Mill

After World War II, the Bibb Manufacturing Company opened several new mills in Georgia, including its Forsyth Mill, pictured in the 1970s. During the 1950s, Bibb became one of the largest employers in the state, and by 1966 the company operated fourteen mills in Georgia.

Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, # mnr184.

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Banning Mill Bridge

Banning Mill Bridge

The original wooden bridge over Snake Creek was used by wagons transporting cotton to Banning Mill in Carroll County. Although the location of the bridge has changed, the foundations of the original bridge location can still be seen from the mill.

Courtesy of Arden Williams

Banning Mill

Banning Mill

Banning Mill in Carroll County is believed to have been the first mill in the state to operate with electricity in the late 1880s. The original mill building, which did not include the wooden portion visible to the left, was four stories high until the top floor burned early in the twentieth century.

Courtesy of Arden Williams

Chenille Bedspreads

Chenille Bedspreads

Mrs. J. A. Green and her son, Allen Burton, make tufted bedspreads on U.S. Highway 41 in Bartow County, 1933. Green was one of the first in the county to make chenille bedspreads.

Courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia, #brt122.

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Catherine Evans Whitener

Catherine Evans Whitener

Catherine Evans Whitener brought back the handcraft of tufting in the 1890s, which played an important role in the economic development of northwest Georgia as its popularity grew.

Courtesy of Shaw Industries, Inc.