ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY, Volume 4 (Spring 1945), p. 78
THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY IN COLUMBIA
COUNTY, ARKANSAS
BY
GLENN G. MARTEL
Magnolia, Arkansas
- Prior to the erection of the Magnolia Cotton Mill in 1927 there had never been a textile mill in Columbia County or, for that matter, in southwest Arkansas. Several years ago under the enthusiasm by Luther Ellison, the Camden Chamber of Commerce and the South Arkansas Chamber of Commerce conducted a tour through the Southeastern States of the nation: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, with the view of studying their industries, laws, and government to the end that their success in industrializing their states might be duplicated in South Arkansas. Magnolia was represented in this group by four of her leading citizens: J. O. Hutcheson, President of the Columbia County Bank; C. C. Lyle, Cashier of the Peoples Bank; J. B. Lee, Cashier of the Farmers Bank and Trust Company; and W. N. Reid, a wealthy retired lumberman.
Harvey Couch, of national reputation in the electric power field and a native son of Columbia County, joined the party at Atlanta, Georgia. In Charlotte, North Carolina, the cotton mills were inspected, and Couch suggested to the other members of the Magnolia party that they build a textile plant at Magnolia. He recommended an outlay of $300,000 or $400,000 and agreed to furnish one-fourth of the necessary capital himself if the three banks of the city would each be responsible for securing as much, that is $100,000 each.
