The history of the country’s oldest hosiery mill.

A lot was happening in 1902. The Pepsi-Cola Company opened for business. Nabisco Animal Crackers and Crayola Crayons hit the shelves for the first time. And to the delight of homeowners everywhere, the gas-powered lawn mower was invented. Meanwhile, in Niota, Tennessee, a group of businessmen met at the local train depot to discuss how to create jobs for their community. The group, led by James L. Burn, decided to open a hosiery mill. Inspired by the name of the Cincinnati-to-New Orleans train route that ran through the town, they named it Crescent Hosiery Mills.

Now that the mill had a name, a building was needed to start production. Mr. Burn was in charge of acquiring a site and overseeing the construction of Crescent’s first plant. The original building was built for $2,500 using hand-made bricks that were baked on site. This two-story building stood a mere 40’ X 60’, and, since it had no electricity, a steam engine was used to power the knitting machines. Crescent Hosiery produced its first pairs of socks in September 1902, then paid its eight employees a total of $17.80 for a week’s worth of work.

Despite these humble beginnings, Crescent Hosiery thrived. Even during the Great Depression, as other knitting mills closed their doors, Crescent turned a profit. Everything was moving along well until disaster struck on February 5, 1966. Early that Saturday morning, a raging fire swept through Crescent. Most of the plant was destroyed, but with the help of devoted employees and concerned citizens of Niota, the rebuilding process started while the ashes were still smoldering. “We were really out of business but not smart enough to recognize it,” said Crescent Chairman of the Board, Bill Burn. The debris was cleared away and the plant opened again for business by Monday morning. Within a year, the plant had replaced all of the damaged equipment and was back at full production — and poised for a period of tremendous growth.

Today, this fourth-generation family business stands as the oldest hosiery mill operating in the U.S. — with 350 employees and a 100,000 square foot manufacturing plant.

There are many reasons for Crescent’s success over the past century. We have always made a commitment to new technology — constantly investing in state-of-the-art equipment to help us produce better quality socks more efficiently. In fact, the oldest knitting machine in our plant today is just nine years old. We also continue our commitment to our Niota community and our employees. That’s why so many of our employees have been working for us for several decades. Most importantly, we’ve continued to produce top-quality, affordable socks for our customers. This commitment to quality is what has driven us for the past century — and will continue to guide us in the future.