Great Falls Mills Ruins

This place is on private property. Listing for informational purposes only. Please do not visit without express permission from the land owner. Any tourist driving on US Highway 74 in North Carolina, heading towards the beach from west of the Piedmont region (and even some towns within it) will eventually come into the town of Rockingham, located in Richmond County. Rockingham is an otherwise quiet town where the local people work, play, and go to church. As you drive into town, there will be a sunken area on the right containing a small area in front of a water dam that houses a set of ruins. At a glance, one may shrug off this small collection of brick, mortar, and aging debris. However, this small collection of bits and pieces has some interesting industrial history attached to it. In the early 1800’s, North Carolina was a predominately agricultural state. Actually, this was true of the entire South. However, in 1833, a cotton mill was chartered in Rockingham. Named the “Richmond Mill,” it was among the first twenty or so cotton mills to be chartered in North Carolina. The mill operated, processing cotton, until 1865 when it was burned down by Union soldiers, during the Civil War. In 1869, the mill was reconstructed and given the name “Great Falls Mill.” The newly refurbished mill operated until the Great Depression caused its closure. After the 1930’s, the mill was simply used as a storage facility for cotton. This continued for many years until the 1960’s and the site was even under serious consideration to become a textile museum. Sadly, the site burned again in 1972. Now, all that remains are the afore-mentioned ruins that sit quietly behind the Huddle House restaurant. The local population rides by the ruins every day, probably barely even noticing them, as they have always been there, for some. Some of the older generation may or may not remember the facility being in operation. Now it is, in essence, a monument to a time in the past. Looking at the ruins conjures up ghostly images of long-gone people going in and coming out of work, much like the factories of today. An interesting aside concerning the site is the band “Hootie & the Blowfish” filmed a music video on the site for their song “Old Man & Me” in the 1990’s. NOTE: This abandoned mill is now overrun with the kudzu vine. It is truly an amazing site to behold.