Kannapolis: From Mill Town to Research-Based Economy

Kannapolis is a thriving city of 43,115 people located along the 1-85 corridor in the Charlotte region of North Carolina. It began as a mill community in 1906 when J.W. Cannon purchased 808 acres of former cotton fields and began construction of “Cannon’s model mill town,” which ambitiously became known as Kannapolis. In its first year of operation, Cannon built two manufacturing plants and 75 homes for carpenters and construction workers. Shortly thereafter, 75 additional homes were built for the first wave of textile workers who came to the area with the promise of new opportunities. By 1920, the population of the community had grown to 5,027 men, women and children, living in 821 new houses. The mill employees resided in the homes, paying low rental rates and enjoying free maintenance, low cost utilities, free garbage collection, and no taxes