Borden Mills [Legacy] - Kingsport, TN
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 36° 31.948 W 082° 32.379
17S E 362168 N 4044112
Borden Mills was a large cloth mill as part of the planned industrialization of Kingsport.
Waymark Code: WM7C7C
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 10/04/2009
Views: 2
The guidebook mentions this business as:
"The BORDEN MILLS (not open to public), across from the Tennessee Eastman Corporation, is a subsidiary of the American Printing Co. The mills manufacture over 900,000 yards of cloth weekly. The complete, modern village for the employees, Oakdale, covers 75 acres."
----- TENNESSEE - A Guide to the State (third printing 1949)
Other histories of Kingsport state that the plant was started in 1924 by the American Printing Company (Fall River, MA) with an employment of 1,200. The mill produced "gray" or unbleached cotton cloth.
The mill was bought out by Chiquola Fabrics in August 1999, but now has been closed and for sale for several years due to overseas competition. Borden city park, established and formerly maintained by the company, is nearby with tennis courts, disc golf, two playgrounds, and picnic shelters.
In 2011, Eastman Chemical purchased the Borden Mill property. After an extensive review of the buildings, their extremely poor structural condition lead to the decision to tear them down while recovering and recycling as much of the materials. This action was completed in 2012.