History

Lincoln Mills’ historical importance is invigorating and inspiring, spanning and exemplifying, possibly as no other buildings in the city, the transition of Huntsville from a ubiquitous cotton mill town to the “Rocket City.”

In 1901, Madison Spinning Company laid the foundation for a mill on the west side of the railroad tracks across from Dallas Manufacturing. This operation became insolvent and ceased operation in 1906, and the property reopened in 1908 as Abingdon Mill. In 1918, it was purchased by William Lincoln Barrell of Lowell, MA, and was known from that time until 1955 as Lincoln Mills of Alabama.

 

After the purchase, Lincoln Mills underwent a tremendous building program, with Mill #3 being built in 1927 and the Finishing Plant (Dye House) being built in 1929-1930. The mill complex grew to a substantial size, approaching 800,000 square feet, and was the largest of the seven major Huntsville cotton mills.

 

After a series of strikes, the property ceased operation as cotton textile mills in 1955, closing its 54-year history in that capacity.

 

The four mills, and their accessory buildings such as the Well House, Chemical Vault and the Dye House, did not sit empty for long. In February 1957, Huntsville Industrial Associates, an alliance of 35 local business and government leaders led by Carl T. Jones, purchased the property, renamed it the “Huntsville Industrial Center,” and immediately saw positive returns on their investment when Brown Engineering, a Huntsville firm expanding through government contracts, leased the former Mill #3. Milton Cummings was president of Brown Engineering, and had grown up in the Lincoln Mill Village. In July 1958, Chrysler, which had won the contract to construct the Army’s Jupiter rocket, decided to locate in the Industrial Center as well, occupying the former Mill #2.

 

Additional contractors serving the space and military industrial complex located in the revived and repurposed Huntsville Industrial Center, which became locally known as the “HIC” building. Much work occurred at the H.I.C. that was instrumental in helping put men on the Moon. Over time, however, these companies, including NASA, relocated either to Redstone Arsenal or the new Research Park that was developed on Huntsville’s western edge in the cotton fields that formerly supplied cotton to Lincoln Mills. As these companies left, their space was either abandoned, or rented as storage, small office and light industrial.

 

The largest fire in Huntsville’s history destroyed much of the complex in February, 1980. However, Mill #3 and the Dye House, the last of the complex to be built and conceived and built as “fire proof”, fulfilled their design intent and survived the fire. The Well House and Chemical Vault were on the southernmost side of the site, and these, along with the Lincoln Mills Headquarters Office, survived as well. After the fire, upon realizing how difficult and expensive it would be to demolish the remaining structures due to their heavy concrete construction, these remaining buildings were sold to a tenant, Robin Ebaugh, who had an operation in one of the mill buildings that had burned. The family partnership led by Robin Ebaugh owned the property for the next quarter-of-a-century (1982-2007.) Robin single-handedly marketed, managed, and maintained the property. Some of the work that he performed largely by himself was border-line Herculean. For instance, in an effort to conserve energy, coupled with a lack of funds to restore the large number of rolled-steel and glass windows, Robin fabricated and installed sheet metal coverings on each opening, often laboring in the evening by floodlight.

 

Lincoln Mills was sold by the Ebaughs in 2007 to a new family partnership, led by Jim Byrne. Better-suited owners would be hard to find. Jim has stated that “these buildings deserve to be restored.” And, indeed, they do. 

 

We invite you to join us as a visitor or as a neighbor at Lincoln Mills. The restoration will be in an authentic setting, envisioned to feature:

 

  • Lincoln Mills - Huntsville Industrial Center & Dr. Pepper Museums
  • Organic farming and food processing
  • Local flavor restaurants
  • An independent movie theater
  • An event facility
  • A Sustainability Center focused on techniques and technologies that will lead us to live more lightly on the land
  • Loft homes, offices and galleries, for rent and for sale
  • And a guaranteed interesting mix of small business operators and loft dwellers.
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Tuesday
03Feb2009

Back to the Future

DateTuesday, February 3, 2009 at 10:19PM

 

Good-hearted William Lincoln Barrell brought the New England mill village formula in its entirety to Huntsville when he bought the failed Abingdon Mill and transformed it into the mighty Lincoln Mills. As his father before him had done in Lawrence Massuchusetts with their family’s Lawrence Duck Company, the model included housing and a school.

The Lincoln School, going strong three decades after the last of Huntsville’s textile mills have closed, is the last mill school in operation, and is simply a model school. In its operation, there is a reverence for the past and a vision for the future.

I recently sat, warmly welcomed, in the midst of Jan's busy library that was calmly accommodating multiple functions, including an unscheduled,Gulliver-sized researcher in their midst. As I sat and perused their historic archives (finding some real nuggets that continue to add to the intent of this journal), I was struck by the joy and contentment I saw and palpably felt around me, emanating from both faculty and students.

I understand that this school has been recommended to be closed and consolidated into another elementary school. If a decision-maker experienced what I did, that this school would even considered to be closed is not logical, and perhaps logic will prevail.

The strengths of the school are many. A deeply caring faculty is buttressed by a volunteer corps that is dynamic and ever-present. More will be written of these angels to the inner-city, such as Mark Stearn and Charlene Pinky.

My older brother, Burke, was enthralled with the movie "Back to the Future." Though Burke shared, possibly even surpassed, Marty McFly's skateboarding skills, his reasons for appreciating this movie ran much deeper than the sheer entertainment value of Marty McFly using his skateboard as legitimate transportation.  The movie took place in that heady time when bigger cars, bigger houses, bigger burgers, bigger shakes, and bigger schools were innocently(?) being embraced as the fulfillment of the American Dream for all.

I, as many of you, have witnessed first hand the swollen, suburban, $42,000,000, automobile/bus dependent schools that have come to dominate the American educational landscape. These institutional facilities have failed on many fronts, and this model will necessarily contract over the next few years, in my opinion, to be replaced with something smaller and more effective at reaching and teaching children. 

The Lincoln School will hopefully survive as a living example of how it can be done – “Back to the Future.”

 

AuthorWayne | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

Wayne -

I don't appear to be the only one who is intrigued by the way Back to the Future compares different eras [errors?] of the built environment. Check out Christopher B. Leinbergers' ode to the film and how it contrasts the suburban car dependent 80's with the walkable 50's over at Walkscore.com: http://walkscore.com/rankings/walkable-urbanism.shtml

March 24, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterBurke

You can read my blog on Back to the Future as a metaphor here: http://trailnrail.blogspot.com/search?q=a+vision+for+hampton%27s+future

March 24, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterBurke

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