Brookside Cotton Mill

One of Knoxville's biggest industries of the Victorian era was Brookside Mills, which opened near Second Creek, just west of Central near Baxter, in 1885. A weaving mill as opposed to a knitting mill, it employed more than 1,000 workers, many of whom lived nearby in what's now Old North. Considered progressive in its day, it offered day care for workers' children, and a green landscaped courtyard for their enjoyment on breaks. Brookside was the reason the family of Clarence Brown, the future Hollywood director, came to Knoxville; his dad, Larkin Brown, was once plant manager. It closed in the 1950s, and the factory has since been demolished. Vintage postcard shared by Chad Cooper.