Upstream: Cox Lake Dam

83-5 Cedar Falls Dam

Downstream: Loflin Pond Road Bridge

Regulator Herman Husbands entered land here on 14, 1754, and returned a survey of it on June 30, 1758, mentioning Cedar Falls by name. Blair (1890) says that Benjamin Elliott acquired it in 1801 and built a gristmill on the site. Orange Ct Min for Sep 1759 show the court granting permission to Husbands to build a mill “on waters of Deep river;” Husbands owned a mill up Sandy Creek too and the Court may have been granting permission to build a mill there rather than at Cedar Falls.

Martin (1993) says the original Elliott dam was wooden and powered a saw mill as well. Later the Elliott family partnered with the Horney family to establish the first cotton mill in Randolph County in 1836. Zuber (1965) says that Jonathan Worth, Hugh McCain, and Jessie Walker were also involved in the establishment of this company. Collectively these same men were the essence of the Whig Party in Randolph County. The 1836 dam was still standing in 1880 (Swain 1880); six feet high and 200 feet long.

Martin also says that the Elliotts branded their yarn and cloth with the Cedar Falls name, becoming the Cedar Falls Manufacturing Company in 1846, housed in a three story brick building. Swain (1899) reports that the Cedar Falls Manufacturing Co. dam was built in three sections using two islands in between and varied between 7 and 10 feet high with a half mile long race. A rail spur came to town in 1890.

Garrett (1976) says that in 1916 the company was foreclosed upon and reopened as the Sapona Cotton Mills. In 1939 the upper mill was sold to the Jordan and Odell families of Saxapahaw (J. M. Odell having learned the cotton mill business in this same mill as a young man); the lower mill was still operated as Sapona Manufacturing, specializing in synthetic yarns. Jockey underwear company bought the mill in the 1980’s. Benner says this dam is 8 feet tall.

Saville (1924) calls this Sapona Mills Dam #1.

A copy of the Interstate Commerce Commission's map of Cedar Falls can be found here: http://southern-railway.railfan.net/ay/towns/cr014.1_cedar_falls/map_v27B-04_cedar_falls_bw.jpg

Areas for Research

Interesting discussion of Orlando Cox of Cedar Falls Mill in S A Ashe's Biographical History