Hamrick Mills

Limestone, 1900

The company opened in January 1900 as Limestone Mills, named for the creek and the quarry stone that gave Gaffney its industry. Dr. Wylie C. Hamrick served as Secretary and Treasurer — the chief operating officer of his day. In time the mill took his family's name, and it has carried it ever since.

Nineteen hundred is early. It is one year before Inman Mills, fifty-five years after Mount Vernon, and thirty-three years before Gambert opened its doors in Newark. The looms that wove the cloth for this shirt belong to a company older than the automobile industry.

Five generations

Hamrick Mills is still directed by the founding family, now in its fourth and fifth generations. The headquarters, both manufacturing plants and the sales offices all sit in Gaffney — nothing has been moved offshore, and nothing has been moved away from the town that built it.

Their stated commitment is unfussy, and worth quoting as they write it: “Hamrick Mills will serve our customers by focusing on quality, innovation and superior service.”

What comes off the looms

Hamrick weaves greige goods — cloth in its natural, undyed state, straight from the loom. Twills, poplins, oxfords, herringbones and plain weaves, in yarns from 15/1 to 40/1, in widths from 39 inches to 135, in weights from under two ounces to eight and a half. All of it woven in the United States.

Greige is the honest starting point for a color program. The cloth is woven once and held undyed, and the season is decided later, in the dyehouse, in small runs.