Hope Mills

It is a novel book. Chartered in 1891, Hope Mills can trace its beginning back to 1766, when due to the wealth of natural water power and the abundance of timber, a lumber camp, saw mill, grist mill and pottery business were established. In 1839, construction of the first cotton mill powered by the Hope Mills Dam was completed and was the beginning of a new era for the town. Much of the heritage and the town's name itself can be attributed to the cotton milling industry that followed. Before it was known as Hope Mills, the area was known as Little Rockfish Village and as Hope Mills Number One. The local cotton mill and many other buildings were burned by General Sherman and his troops during the Civil War.