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but were afraid to ask: 
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Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
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aerog
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A neat "find"
Well <span style="font-weight: bold">I</span> thought it was neat.
On Sunday we had to fly up to North Carolina for some photo work. 900+ miles round-trip, nonstop. Long day.
On the way back I happened to see this clock tower along a road. Not something you see every day, and there wasn't much around that seemed connected to it.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Cliffside, NC</span>
Click to enlarge...
...a little investigation revealed the town of "Cliffside" was once a bustling town built around a cotton mill. It was started by R.R.Haynes in the late 1800s. The area around the mill was a village with several churches, stores, and more. The business employed 900 and at one point the village was home to 2500.
Apparently Haynes was well liked. He had "company stores" but was concerned about the cost of living and his employees. Contrary to the stereotypical "company store" of the era Haynes had his stores sell <span style="font-style: italic">below cost</span> to the employees.
Haynes built a large public school near the village of Cliffside. The teachers were paid by the county, but when they got paid Haynes always added money to their pay envelopes.
R.R.Haynes died in 1917. The employees and company built a community building in his memory. In 1922 it opened with a gym, bath house, a theater, and over the front stood that clock tower and clock. When the building was demolished in the 70s former employees and residents lobbied the new owners to relocate the clock. Today it sits where R.R.Haynes' house was, still a memorial of sorts - which explains the clock tower in the middle of nowhere.
Just a block away are the remains of the mill. Like many mills of it's period, the machinery in the plant was driven by water-power. The river was dammed and harnessed using drive-shafts and pulleys (similar to steam-powered mills). Eventually the hydro-mechanical design gave way to hydro-electric. The small building next to the dam houses water-driven turbines that not long ago still generated power.
Much of the building has been demolished by the new owners. Nobody knows what the plan is for the building, but indications are they'd like to start the hydro-electric plant up again.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Cliffside, NC</span>
Click to enlarge...
The school? It's still there. Cliffside Public School. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Cliffside Public School - Cliffside, NC</span>
Click to enlarge...
Funny what you find, riding around on a Sunday morning.
Well <span style="font-weight: bold">I</span> thought it was neat.
On Sunday we had to fly up to North Carolina for some photo work. 900+ miles round-trip, nonstop. Long day.
On the way back I happened to see this clock tower along a road. Not something you see every day, and there wasn't much around that seemed connected to it.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Cliffside, NC</span>
Click to enlarge...
...a little investigation revealed the town of "Cliffside" was once a bustling town built around a cotton mill. It was started by R.R.Haynes in the late 1800s. The area around the mill was a village with several churches, stores, and more. The business employed 900 and at one point the village was home to 2500.
Apparently Haynes was well liked. He had "company stores" but was concerned about the cost of living and his employees. Contrary to the stereotypical "company store" of the era Haynes had his stores sell <span style="font-style: italic">below cost</span> to the employees.
Haynes built a large public school near the village of Cliffside. The teachers were paid by the county, but when they got paid Haynes always added money to their pay envelopes.
R.R.Haynes died in 1917. The employees and company built a community building in his memory. In 1922 it opened with a gym, bath house, a theater, and over the front stood that clock tower and clock. When the building was demolished in the 70s former employees and residents lobbied the new owners to relocate the clock. Today it sits where R.R.Haynes' house was, still a memorial of sorts - which explains the clock tower in the middle of nowhere.
Just a block away are the remains of the mill. Like many mills of it's period, the machinery in the plant was driven by water-power. The river was dammed and harnessed using drive-shafts and pulleys (similar to steam-powered mills). Eventually the hydro-mechanical design gave way to hydro-electric. The small building next to the dam houses water-driven turbines that not long ago still generated power.
Much of the building has been demolished by the new owners. Nobody knows what the plan is for the building, but indications are they'd like to start the hydro-electric plant up again.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Cliffside, NC</span>
Click to enlarge...
The school? It's still there. Cliffside Public School. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Cliffside Public School - Cliffside, NC</span>
Click to enlarge...
Funny what you find, riding around on a Sunday morning.
