The Man Behind The Mill: A Biography of EM Holt

Directly in the heart of the Tar Heel state lies the Village of Alamance, home site of the EM Holt Mill, the first manufacturer of plaid and colored fabrics south of the Mason Dixon line. Thriving in the competitive cloth market of the 1800s, surviving the perils of Civil War and erected after a fire in 1871, the EM Holt Mill owes its success and longevity to its owner, Edwin Michael Holt.

Foreseeing the loads of opportunity in the booming textile industry, Holt started the mill after admiring the mechanical ingenuity of his Greensboro, NC colleague Henry Humphries, owner of a steam-powered cotton mill. Holt chose a location on the Great Alamance Creek to build his own mill in 1837. Soon after, Holt confessed to his wife the mill had earned him $6,000 in one year. Holt added more machinery in 1845 in order to keep up with demand. Profits soared. Years later, Holt served as a director for the North Carolina Railroad, a strategic move that might have affected the close proximity of a railroad only five miles from the mill. With the convenient access to raw materials, supplies and merchandise, the mill was as productive as it was profitable.

Others envied jobs at the mill throughout Alamance and surrounding counties. Holt was known for hiring families, not individual workers, and gave employees several holidays including Easter Monday, Fourth of July, a day in the fall for a circus or county fair, and Christmas. Oftentimes, workers sweated alongside Holt’s kin: four of his sons, all of his sons-in-law and all of his grandsons were engaged in the manufacture of colored cloths at some time in their lives.

Holt’s esteem for hard work was not exclusive to employees and kin. Journal entries captured the essence of his own down-to-earth character. In the year of 1844, Holt engaged in many laboring activities including hauling wood, wheat, manure and cotton, the plough of cornfields, sowing oats, and killing hogs.

The EM Holt Mill and the Holt Plantation owes its success to Holt’s thrifty organization and keen resourcefulness. Like many hardy Americans, Edwin Michael Holt was a man of efficiency, buying only that which he could not produce at a lower price. Produce, a smith shop, machine shop, sawmill, carpentry shop, shoe shop, distillery, and other operations were staples of the Holt family.

Mill owner, magistrate, county commissioner, railroad director and church philanthropist, Holt was a man of many hats. Never during his lifetime did Holt find himself involved in cruelty or corruption. Upon his death bed in 1884, Holt called his sons to his side and asked “Do you remember any instance in my life in which I ever took an unfair advantage of any man or woman or child? If so, tell me, for I want to make it right.” After being assured in the negative, he said “then I die contented.”

Holt’s good-natured character lingers far after his death. In signature Holt fashion, the Village of Alamance welcomes you to Plaid Day 2008, an old-fashioned day of outdoor activities commemorating EM Holt and life in the historic mill village. Enjoy hayrides, walking tours, history displays, and a classically southern BBQ dinner on the grounds at the Alamance Lutheran Church, located one mile north of city hall on NC Route 62 on Sept. 29 from noon to 4 pm. Call 336 229 6594 for more information. Remember to wear plaid!