A Brief History of Mt. Vernon Mills

Founded in 1845 as a producer of cotton yarn, the mill was named initially Trion after its three founders, Judge Marsh, Mr. Allgood, and Colonel W.K. Briers. Running out of a two-story log structure that measured 141 feet by 50 feet, it was operated by a team of forty employees. The mill initially gained business by producing four and a half pounds of yarn and taking it to local merchants in wooden carts to get their name out. Soon after their founding, Trion became the leading maker of duck cloth in the US. 

1861-65, During the Civil War, Trion produced woolen products for the Confederacy. However, it wasn't burned down by Union soldiers as many other Confederate-associated businesses were. In 1869, Mr. Allgood was quoted as saying this about the incident — “When the Union army general passed through our place in 1864 he stayed all night with me and the next morning gave me protection papers. I worked for the Confederate government under protest.”

1912, after a decline in demand, the mill was forced into bankruptcy. The mill and all of its assets were purchased by a New York businessman by the name of Benjamin D. Reigal. After bringing both the mill and the town of Trion back to life, he renamed it to Mt Vernon-Woodbury Mills in 1915.  

In 1971, Mt Vernon Mills expanded their indigo range, purchasing rebeamers, sandforizers, and the equipment needed to dye yarns with indigo. The first production of denim was a heavy-weight 14oz indigo denim.  

In 1991, the mill acquired new carding and opening machinery as well as constructed a new building for denim production. They also acquired a wide range of dyes, the largest in the world at that time. 

As of 2013, Mt Vernon Mills had 25 acres of factory space, was taking in 1083 tons of cotton every week, and producing 23,000 acres of denim each week to be shipped domestically and worldwide. Today, they have successfully helped to reduce pollution from their mills, saving 790 million gallons of water since 2008, with water per pound of production reduced by 22.7% between 2012 and 2019. Additionally, 85-90% of the nitrogen produced in production is saved and used on local farms for fertilizer. Since 1999, the mills' regulated air pollutant emissions have been reduced by 68%, and volatile organic compound air emissions have been reduced by 65%. And from 2008 to 2019, total greenhouse gas emissions from on-site fuel combustion and electricity usage at our Trion operations have declined by 41.2%. While some of this is in part due to a decline in production, it is clear that Mt Vernon Mills is dedicated to American quality while reducing their footprint on the earth.