The early 1900s were a period of rapid growth, industrial development, and community building in Caldwell County. Hudson and Rhodhiss expanded with new industries, schools, and infrastructure. The Hudson Cotton Mill (Shuford Mills) was established in 1904, and the town incorporated in 1905. Rhodhiss developed around the textile industry, with its first plant and dam built in 1902 and a second plant opening in 1914. Mortimer and Grandin were lumber and timber towns; however, Grandin’s ambitious operations were destroyed by the 1916 flood.
Granite Falls Dam provided electricity for the area, 1915 Source: “Etched in Granite”
Railroads, bridges, and dams facilitated industry and transport, while electricity gradually reached communities. Granite Falls Manufacturing supplied electricity for domestic and business use starting in 1915, and the Buffalo Power Company provided hydroelectric power to Lenoir. Communication and technology advanced with the first telephones in Hudson (1900) and Lenoir (1905), and the first automobile arrived in the county in 1907.
In Grandin, railroad tracks were washed into the water during the flood, 1916 Source: Caldwell County Archives Restored by Pam Smith Cooke
Railroads, bridges, and dams facilitated industry and transport, while electricity gradually reached communities. Granite Falls Manufacturing supplied electricity for domestic and business use starting in 1915, and the Buffalo Power Company provided hydroelectric power to Lenoir. Communication and technology advanced with the first telephones in Hudson (1900) and Lenoir (1905), and the first automobile arrived in the county in 1907.
Upon the death of her father, Sheriff M.E. Estes, Mary Estes Triplett assumed some of the Sheriff’s duties. Source: Caldwell County Archives
Education expanded with new schools in Rhodhiss, Sawmills, Buffalo Cove, Patterson, and Oak Hill. Cultural and civic life flourished with the Henkel Opera House (1908), the Cliffs (1900s), and Hudson’s Music Publishing Company (1905). Healthcare continued to expand with the county’s first female doctor, Dr. Margaret Castex Jones in 1916.
Global and national events took a toll here at home. Soldiers from Caldwell County served and died in World War I, and the Spanish Flu epidemic struck in 1918. While the county grieved its losses from war, epidemic, and natural disaster, growth continued. Local infrastructure improved after the 1916 flood, when Southern Power (now Duke Energy) purchased Rhodhiss Manufacturing in 1919.
Corp. Walter Scott Source: Caldwell County Archives
Community & Change
Sources: Sherrie Hartsoe Sigmon; John O. Hawkins, “History of Buffalo Cove;” Nancy Alexander, “Here Will I Dwell;” Caldwell Heritage Museum; Town of Hudson website; Town of Sawmills website; History of Dysart Kendall American Legion, 1955.