Chadbourn

Chadbourn Mill was built in the 1930s by Rufus D. Wilson to manufacture women’s hosiery.

Both the building and the hosiery brand went by the name Larkwood until 1945, when J. Chadbourn Bolles and his partners purchased the company and changed the name of the mill to Chadbourn. The mill continued to make hosiery under the Larkwood name, but also expanded production over the next several decades to include sleepwear, lingerie, men’s work clothes and leisure wear, and even carpet yarn.

Early on, the mill used modern machinery to make stockings that were “full-fashioned,” a term used to indicate a perfect fit.

As more women entered the workplace, Chadbourn shifted its message from one focused on style to one focused on durability, promising stockings that were “Guaranteed not to run.” The mill (and its workers) survived an ever-changing landscape as women’s fashion evolved, as Charlotte grew around it, and as wars came and went. It continued to operate until the 1970s, at which point it became a dormant warehouse and storage facility.

Its distinguishable smokestack still stands against the sky as a testament to the importance of the textile industry to Charlotte’s history and, conversely, of Charlotte’s role in it. Our adaptive re-use project seeks to resurrect Chadbourn as a place that is full-fashioned for the Charlotte of today.