Whistlestop at Company Shops

A New Town Emerges

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Courtesy of Rick Campbell

In 1887 citizens of Company Shops decided to change the town’s name as "Company Shops" no longer seemed relevant. On February 8th the municipal charter was officially changed to the Town of Burlington with "I’ll tell the world" as its motto. A committee selected the new name after considerable deliberation. Holtsville and Carolinadelphia were among those rejected.

New Industry

After the railroad repair shops left the area, those citizens who chose not to relocate took advantage of the newly expanding textile industry as well as a growing market for tobacco. The proximity of local merchants to an active freight station gave them an advantage over county merchants by saving the expense of transporting goods over long distances by wagons. The shops may have declined in usefulness, but the railroad remained a beneficial factor in Burlington.

Burlington Coffin Company
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Courtesy of Rick Campbell

Known as the Carolina Coffin Company during the days of Company Shops, the Burlington Coffin Company reorganized into one of the town’s major industries. Its original frame building was constructed in 1884 at the corner of Maple Avenue and Tucker Street. It became the first coffin company between Cincinnati and Atlanta. Fire destroyed the plant in 1904.

Textile Industry
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Courtesy of the Alamance Historical Museum

The first cotton mill in Alamance County was Edwin M. Holt’s factory at Alamance Village in 1737. Other similar mills soon appeared along the Haw River. Aurora Cotton Mills was the first cotton mill established in Burlington. Raw cotton was shipped to the mill by the way of rail and the finished goods were loaded into freight cars then taken to the freight station for further distribution.

Defense Industry
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Image taken from Walter Whitaker, Centennial History of Alamance County [Burlington, NC: Burlington Chamber of Commerce]

The Fairchild Aircraft Corporation established a plant in Burlington in 1942 along Highway 70. In May 1943 the first Fairchild AT-21 gunner training plane was completed for the U. S. Air Force. Construction materials were carried to the factory by train. Trains also transported the finished planes. The Fairchild plant was taken over by the Western Electric Corporation in April 1946.

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