Fries Cotton Mill

The Fries Cotton Mill was also known as the Fries Cotton and Woolen Mill, the Salem Cotton Manufacturing Company and F&H Fries. During the Civil War, the Fries Cotton Mill wove and supplied material amounts of wool and cotton to the Confederate Army.

History

Francis "Franz" Levin Fries (1812-1863) was born in Salem, North Carolina, and started the Fries Cotton Mill. "...On May 24, 1838, he married Lisetta Maria Vogler (March 3, 1820-October 23, 1903), the daughter of John Vogler and Christina Spach Vogler. Francis was a prominent citizen of Salem. He served his community as a pioneer manufacturer and respected civic leader. According to the “Papers of William W. Holden,” Francis (Franz) Levin Fries, textile manufacturer, was a member of the House of Commons for his county, 1858-1859. (Volume I, page 95). Years before the Civil War, he traveled north to learn more about the mills located there. He immediately recognized the types of machinery and business methods needed to run a successful mill in Salem. He ingeniously invented new machinery to make the mill run more effectively and then organized the Salem Cotton Manufacturing Company. His most successful venture was the ability to mechanically card the wool needed for weaving and spinning. In 1846, his brother Henry W. Fries became his partner, and the two built the famous firm of F & H Fries. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Fries factory wove and supplied material amounts of wool and cotton to the Confederate Army. In 1861, Henry corresponded with North Carolina Henry T. Clark concerning his problems adequately supplying the army."^[1]

Though the Salem cotton factory was less prosperous, Francis Fries , who left his position in 1840, was developing a wool mill of his own on Lot No. 103, now the northwest corner of Brookston Avenue and South Liberty Street (then the New Shallowford and Salt streets). Fries leased the lot in February 1840 and immediately began to erect a factory, placing it in the middle of the lot on the east side of the small creek which ran across the lot. A wood-burning steam engine furnished the power for the machinery. The first wool rolls were carded on 14 June and four months later spinning was commenced. Looms were added, and in May 1842 Fries could announce to the public that he expected “to keep constantly on hand a good assortment of wools, common yarn, Stocking Yarn ready twisted, and cheap Lindseys and cloths of different colors, qualities and prices.” By May of the next year, “good, heavy Jeans” had been added to the line, later becoming one of Fries most popular products. On March 1846 Francis Fries took into partnership his younger brother, Henry W. Fries, who had already been helping him in the mill; the partnership was known as F & H Fries. Connections were made with business firms in the north, and trade spread widely in the South. During the American Civil War the Fries mills worked largely on the cloth used for Confederate uniforms.”^[2]

The Fries woolen mills were erected in 1840, and the firm of F & H Fries (Francis and Henry W. Fries) was started in 1846. In 1848 a cotton mill was added, and the mills again enlarged in 1860. They had a floor capacity of 24,000 square feet, and had a dye house, dry-house and warehouses. The mills never stopped work for a day since they were opened until 1877, except when repairs or refitting was necessary. Francis Fries died in 1863, and Henry carried on the family business, including a tannery founded in 1769, and run by a relative, John W. Fries, and a grist mill. They had the best machine shop in the state.^[3]

"The Fries Cotton Mill, of Forsyth County, NC, began 1840, with 1,614 spindles and 40 looms in operation in 1874, was powered by steam, employed 100 people and produced both yarn and cloth."^[4]

During the war, the Fries mill operated around the clock to supply cotton and woolen goods to the army. “…The residents of Salem, in 1863 and 1864, will recall the long lines of cloth tacked to the fences, in the avenue, or around the private lots in the town. These long strips were being painted and made into “oilcloth,” to protect the soldiers from the weather, and to serve them in other ways. The Fries mills were running day and night to weave the famous gray cloth used in the army. The clatter of wooden shoes was heard, as the boys and girls came and went from school; and while the children rather liked them, because they did make so much noise, the real object of this use of wood instead of leather was to send so much more leather to the soldiers. Even the little folks picked quantities of lint for the wounded, while their elders wound numberless rolls of bandages for the surgeon’s use.”^[5]

As the war progressed and prices increased, some attempt to make the prices to the government meet some sort of rationality came into play. Some of the wool manufacturers, such as the Fries mill in North Carolina, were making up to 67% profit in sales to the Confederate and state governments. In North Carolina, Zebulon B. Vance railed against these excesses in the legislature, but was challenged by the mill owners. “Frank Fries found the governor’s assertions “very sweeping.” He wrote Quartermaster James Sloan that the millers were “as liberal” as any & are not more incorrigible than other classes of our citizens. Fellow manufacturer John A. Young, originally a vocal leader of North Carolina’s secession movement, challenged Vance on the floor of the state senate and forced the governor into a satisfying “disclaimer” on behalf of Young, Wriston and Orr, a leading supplier of the state quartermaster…”^[6]

References

Archives

• Fries and Shaffner family papers, 1848-1919. Description: 458 items (1.0 linear ft.). Abstract: Primarily personal and family correspondence of Francis Lavin Fries, his daughter Caroline (“Carrie”) Louisa Fries Shaffner, and her husband John Francis (“Frank”) Shaffner. There is correspondence, 1850- 1860, between members of the Fries family visiting in Philadelphia and other family members at home in Salem; letters to J. F. Shaffner at Jefferson Medical College from members of the Fries family; and scattered letters from Francis Fries on business trips and while attending the North Carolina state legislature in 1858. During the Civil War period there are letters from J. F. Shaffner with the Confederate Army in North Carolina and Virginia and letters to him from Caroline and Mary Fries describing life in Salem. Also included are letters to Caroline from Mary, after the latter’s marriage and removal to Caldwell County, N.C., mostly dealing with domestic and family affairs. There are scattered business letters of J. F. Shaffner, 1868-1887. Volumes include diaries of Caroline (Fries) Shaffner, 1861-1876; surgical notes, 1862-1863, by J. F. Shaffner; his diary, 1863- 1865; and an address by him about his Civil War experiences. Fries, Francis Lavin, 1812-1863; Patterson, Mary E. Fries, 1844-1927; Shaffner, Caroline Fries, 1839-1922; Shaffner, John Francis, 1838-1908. Note(s): In the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#4046). Fries, Shaffner, and related families of Salem (now Winston- Salem), N.C. Francis Lavin Fries (1812-1863), with his brother, Henry (1825-1905), owned and operated woolen and cotton mills and a general store in Salem. Fries was active in the Moravian church and in local government and politics, and served in the North Carolina legislature, 1858-1859. He married Lisetta Marie Vogler (1820-1903), also of Salem, and with her had seven children, including Caroline Louisa (1839-1922), called Carrie, who married John Francis (“Frank”) Shaffner (1838-1908); and Mary Elizabeth (1844-1927), who married Rufus Lenoir Patterson (1830- 1879). Shaffner studied medicine in Philadelphia and Salem, where in 1861 he joined the Confederate medical service and was named assistant surgeon of the 33rd North Carolina Regiment and was captured briefly by federal forces, May–June 1862. In 1863 he joined the 4th North Carolina Regiment. Caroline Fries and J. F. Shaffner were married in 1865 and together had five children. Mary (Fries) Patterson and her husband lived during the early years of their marriage at “Palmyra,” the Patterson family home in Caldwell County, N.C. General Info: Associated materials: Francis Fries Papers (#265); Mary Fries Patterson Diaries (#1770); Lisetta Maria Vogler Diary (#1172); Francis Henry Fries, “History of the Fries Family” (#1175); Rufus Lenoir Patterson Papers (#4154); Jones and Patterson Family Papers (#578), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unpublished description available. OCLC: 26320372.
• Pfohl, Christian Thomas. Papers. Southern Historical Society Collection, UNC. Collection #M-3331. Archival Material: Microform 102 items. Chiefly letters by four of C. T. Pfohl’s friends while serving in the Confederate Army, including his cousin, William J. Pfohl, who was a major at the time of his death in October 1864; Sam C. James, who was a captain at the time of his death in the summer of 1864; Henry W. Barrow, whose work was largely with the wagons accomanying the regiment; and Dr. John Francis Shaffner (1838-1908), physician, who later married Carolina L. Fries. All the friends started out together with the Forsyth Rifles, organized in the summer of 1861, which became part of the 11th Regiment of North Carolina Volunteers. This regiment became the 21st North Carolina Infantry in 1862. Dr. Shaffner was separated from the others and served in the 33rd and 4th North Carolina regiments and had various medical and hospital assignments. Leers from 23 June 1861-16 November 1864 were written from northern Virginia and mention Manassas, Centreville, Gordonsville, Orange, Winchester, Strasburg, and Fredericksburg. The letters of January- February 1864 were written at Kinston, N.C. Dr. Shaffner was in northern Virginia most of the time, but also wrote from New Bern, N.C., January- April 1862. There is constant discussion of clothes and boots, which the soldiers wanted Pfohl to send them. There is also frequent mention of mutual friends from Salem, both those in the army and those at home; and discussion of politics and elections, the organization and selection of officers in the regiments, and desertion. Dr. Shaffner’s letters contain comments on the health of the troops, medical advice to C. T. Pfohl, and discussions of the course of the war in general and the outlook for the Confederacy. The only items not written by the four friends are scattered business letters, occasional official communications about C. T. Pfohl’s army status, and letters exchanged between him and his family after his enlistment. Named Person: Barrow, Henry W., b. 1827?; James, Sam C., 1829?-1864; Pfohl, Christian Thomas, 1838-1909; Pfohl, William J., 1838?-1864; Shaffner, John Francis, 1838-1908. Note(s): In the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#3331). Microfilm of items privately owed as of 1969. Reproduction: Microfilm. Chapel Hill, N.C. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1958. 1 microfilm reel: negative; 35 mm. Pfohl worked as a bookkeeper for the textile manufacturing firm of F. & H. Fries, Salem, N.C. He also lived in the household of Francis Fries. The F. & H. Fries firm manufactured jeans for Confederate uniforms during the Civil War, and C. T. Pfohl was exempt from active military duty because of the essential nature of his work. In addition, these letters from family and friends indicate that his physical condition was delicate; however, he did go on active duty in November 1864. OCLC: 25754395.