Eden was created by the vote to consolidate the three towns and the area between. Since then there have been almost as many changes as occurred in any previous 4 decade span. The transition was fairly smooth. We now had one Police Department, One Fire Department, One City Hall. The tax rate did not go up, it actually went down. The one thing that citizens may have noticed that is that a lot of mail had to be rerouted from Edenton to Eden.
After Harold Whitcomb retired, the new Marshal Field ownership installed its own candidate as President. For the first time the mills were being managed by people who did not rise through the ranks and who in some cases never actually moved to the city. Over time the result was telling. Prior to this when mill workers were asked “Who do you work for?” they would have said “Mr. Whitcomb” or “Mr. Hodges”. After these new individuals were put in place the workers would typically respond by naming their forman or manager.
Not 10 years after consolidation, Eden got its new corporate citizen in Miller Brewing. With higher wages most employers in town were concerned that they lose their best employees. Miller hired from such a wide area that concern was ill founded. Additional mills were built east of Draper and now they are all closed or changed.
Fieldcrest profits were hit hard by foreign competition as were many other textile manufacturing plants. Canon Mills was also hurt, and Fieldcrest began talks and in 1985 bought Cannon. It turns out that Cannon plants had more modern equipment and a decision was made to close the Eden Mills and move the corporate offices to Kannapolis. Now they are all closed as well.
Around this time other small operations ceased production and the new city was hit by a lot of people losing their jobs. After the last plant closed many workers found work out of town. New companies arrived and new jobs were created. Eden Survived. Recently the loss of Miller was particularly painful as it had only been in operation for less than 30 years. But we have even weathered that problem with the arrival of Purina. Even the loss of Karastan, the last Fieldcrest operation that had been sold to Mohawk, has recently closed. There are some Mills that have been demolished and more that sit empty. Only one so far has found a use. The Rhode Island Mill is an apartment building. Even the one mill to survive the Mebane problem, Spray Cotton Mill, has closed and a rehabilitation into living spaces was foiled by an enormous fire.
Eden is a city with lots of problems but lots of promise. We do have one resource. It was here when Leaksville was planned. It was here when Spray got its origin. The rivers remain, and so long as they flow there will always be Eden.
~ Article provided by James 'Jimmy' Ivie, Eden Historical Museum Curator.
