Date: 1910
1111 Haynes Street, Raleigh
Easement Acquired 12/2/2005
Individually Listed
National Register of Historic Places
Raleigh Historic Landmark
The Pilot Mill Company was one of two textile mills in Raleigh that produced gray goods (unfinished cotton) around the turn of the 20th century. The site was purchased in 1892 by James and William Williamson and the first mill building was built that same year. The 1892 Building was built with bricks made by prisoners at the North Carolina State Prison (then located where the NC State Fairgrounds currently stands). The 1892 Building housed the mill’s spinning and weaving functions. In 1910, Pilot Mills expanded into a new building, built that year, next to the first building. The Williamson family operated the mill until 1918, when they sold it to Consolidated Textile Company, who operated it until about 1930-1931. The Belk-Hudson Company bought the mill in 1931. In 1968, the Crompton Company bought the mill, and operated it until they closed in the late 1970s. After its close, the mill was used as a warehouse, until its purchase for redevelopment in 1988. During the early stages of redevelopment, the roof was removed from the 1892 Building. Shortly thereafter, the building was foreclosed upon, and the building sat abandoned and exposed to the elements for nearly ten years. Current owner, Hedgehog Holdings, bought the complex in 1997, but was not sure that it could be saved due to a high level of deterioration. Hedgehog Holdings took advantage of a “Brownfields Agreement” with the NC Department of Commerce and rehabilitation tax credits available to National Register properties through the NC Historic Preservation Office, both of which significantly helped finance the restoration, thus enabling the owner to preserve the Pilot Mill complex. Hedgehog Holdings donated a façade easement on the 1910 building to CAP in September 2005.