Photo Gallery

Panel 1: Aerial View of Bibb City (Industrial Index, March 12,1924.)

Panel 2: Bibb Mill and surrounding city. (Date Unknown)

Workers were asked to respond to the strike by a questionaire printed in the Bibb Recorder September, 1934. (Columbus State University Archives).

Comer Auditorium, built early 1940s. (Bibb Recorder, July? 25, 194)

Mill worker speaking of last days in Mill. (Ledger Enquirer, 19 March 1998, A1)

Flames at the Bibb Mill. (Courtesy of Robert Goolsby.)

Panel 3: Front view of Bibb Manufacturing Company, (1930. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia.108-COLM, 27-5)

Interior view of Bibb Mill machinery. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia.108-COLM, 27-23.)

Panel 4: Young women working in a spinning room, Bibb Mill, Macon, GA. (1909. Photographer: Lewis Wickes Hine. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM, 27-8)

Spinning room, (no date. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, HAER GA, 108-COLM, 27-8.)

Panel 5: Black mill workers opening bales of cotton. Greensboro, North Carolina, 1907. (National Museum of American History)

Men from Bibb Mill, Macon, GA. (1909. Photographer: Lewis Wickes Hine. Lirbary of Congress, Digital Collections, LC-DIG-nclc-01620.)

Panel 6: An example of the inexpensive housing built by the mill for workers and their families. (Industrial Index, March 12, 1924)

Panel 7: Children were so small they had to climb on the frame. 1909 Bibb Mill in Macon, GA. (Photographer: Lewis Wicks Hine. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-H5-488.)

Bibb City holds a party for 700 children who participated in the community cleanup campaign. (Bibb Recorder, May 30,1947. Columbus State University Archives)

Panel 8: Bibb Elementary School, Mrs. Rowe's Kindergarten Class, 1956-57. (Courtesy of Ann Watkins)

The Bibb Men celebrate winning the Bibb Invitational Tournament. (Bibb Recorder, March 1934.)

Panel 9: Girl Reserves preparing to go to New Orleans. (Bibb Recorder, June 22,1951.)

10 cents a swim. (Bibb Recorder, August 1951.)

Panel 10: Map of Bibb Mill and the surrounding village. (Columbus State University Archives.)

 

Old machinery from the mill covered in dust and lint. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27- 24.

West end of the multiple-story mill on the banks of the Chattahoochee. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-2.

Bibb City's water tower, located to the north west of the mill, is an element which families could see from all over the village. The water tower still stands today. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-4.

Bibb City had a unique layout for a mill village. As seen here, Bibb was designed through the hills and housed most of its mill workers. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-7.

Columbus Electric and Power Company publication, showing an aerial view of Bibb City. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27- 10.

Women accounted for a large portion of southern mill labor as shown here. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-8.

Improved technology led to mills being able to pay unskilled workers less money while maintaining the same production outputs. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-23.

Cramped areas often presented a dangerous work environment in southern mills, especially for children working in them. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-12.

The dam allowed the mill to receive its power and was vital to its success. The dam is currently operated by Georgia Power. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-14.

Large conveyer belts were essential in the operation of the Bibb Mill. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-20.

A small segment of the 1000ft mill on the west end. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-3.

The Bibb Mill stretched from the banks of the Chattahoochee to 1st Avenue. The building was destroyed by a fire on October 30, 2008. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-6.

The entrance to the Bibb Mill was created with a clock design as its center piece. It is the only remaining part of the mill. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-5.

Cars once filled the parking lot of the Bibb. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-32.

As the 20th century winded down, the number of cars in the parking lot begin to shrink, and on March 30, 1998, they were only a memory. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-31

Mill housing: A front porch culture was created in the Bibb Mill village as workers would visit and gossip. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-34

Houses were built close together so that each could share an outhouse and water spout. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-33

This is the blueprint for the creation of Bibb City. Location next to the river was essential for the mills operation. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-30.

As seen in the picture above, dust and lint in the air played a problem for Bibb workers who took in these particles daily. Library of Congress, Print and Photographs Division, HAER Georgia, 108-COLM 27-27.