Gaston County History: Cities & Towns: Cramerton

The Weather Channel documentary about the history of the town of Cramerton, North Carolina war effort and Cramerton Mills, a mill responsible for making Army khaki for soldiers during World War II.

See TopoQuest map.

See current census information.

Official city website.

Cramerton was originally named Mayesworth in 1906 and became Mayworth in 1915. It was the site of a cotton mill, the Mayes Manufacturing Company, started by a group of investors including John H. Mayes of Charlotte. The land was purchased from William and Elizabeth Reid Holland; it had belonged to her father, William Reid. In 1915, Stuart Warren Cramer, one of the investors and a noted architect and inventor, bought the company and village, calling it Mays Mills. In 1922 when he announced plans to greatly expand the company and to create a "model" village, the name became Cramerton. This was a company owned village, not an incorporated town. In 1946 the company and town were purchased by Burlington Industries. Going along with more modern practices, Burlington sold many of the mill houses to individual families. In 1978 Burlington closed all but one of the factories and, eventually in 1999 closed that last one.

Cramerton became an incorporated town in 1967. J. Paul Featherston was named as the first mayor until an election could be held.

Population figures for Cramerton vary widely in various sources. It was reported be be about 500 in 1911, 2500 in 1922, and 3,280 in 1940.

• 1950 -- 3,211; 1960 -- 3,123; 1970 -- 2,142;
• 1980 -- 1,869; 1990 -- 2,371; 2000 -- 2,976;
• 2010- -- 4,165.

Cramerton Historical Resources:

• • Cramerton, North Carolina : A Pictorial History, by Autrey VanPelt, (pub. 1997), call #: 975.677 Van NCC
  • Memories of Cramerton : A Cotton Mill Town, by Larry O. Nichols, (pub. 2007), call #: 975.677 Nic NCC
  • Cramerton, North Carolina : A Piedmont Mill Town, by Woody Connette, Tom Hatley, [&] Roger Manley, (pub. 1974), call #: 975.677 C NCC
  • The Textile Heritage of Gaston County, by Robert Allison Ragan, (pub. 2001), call #: 920 Rag NCC Over. "Cramerton Mills, p. 124-131 and "Stuart Warren Cramer," p. 291-293.
  • Cramerton North Carolina centennial celebration one hundred years strong. October 16-18, 2015. Supplement to The Gaston Gazette.
  • Oral history interview with Louise Elrod of Cramerton Mill Village, dated Wednesday, September 18, 1996.
  •  Presentation of the Army E Navy production award to Cramerton Mills, INC. eleven-thirty a.m. Friday September 18, 1942. Cramerton, North Carolina. [BIBLIOBOARD RESOURCE]
• For city directory listings that include Cramerton, see our guide City Directories.