Editing Englewood, Tennessee (section)

==History==

In 1857, businessman John Dixon established the Eureka Cotton Mills near what is now Englewood where they used regionally-grown cotton to produce yarn. The small mill community that developed around the mill became known as Eureka Mills. By 1875, Elisha Brient, a partner of Dixon, and several of Brient's relatives had acquired Eureka Cotton Mills, and in 1894 the Brients renamed the town of Eureka Mills "Englewood".<ref name=burney>Jenny Burney, "Englewood Mills". ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' (Nashville, Tenn.: Rutledge Hill Press, 1998), pp. 256-257.</ref> The name was suggested by Nancy Chestnutt, a sister-in-law of James Brient, who thought the area resembled the English forests of the [[Robin Hood]] tales she had read about as a child.<ref name=byrum>C. Stephen Byrum, ''McMinn County'' (Memphis, Tenn.: Memphis State University Press, 1984), pp. 48-50.</ref>

[[File:Englewood-tennessee-1907.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Englewood in 1907]]

In the late 19th century, the Brients began building shops and gristmills approximately {{convert|2|mi|km}} northeast of their milltown at a railroad stop called Tellico Junction, where the [[Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern Railway|Atlanta, Knoxville & Northern Railroad]] (which roughly followed modern U.S. 411) intersected the Tellico Railroad (which connected Athens and [[Tellico Plains, Tennessee|Tellico Plains]]).<ref name=byrum /> The Brients also expanded their Englewood operation, establishing a flour and feed mill in partnership with J.W. Chestnutt.<ref name=byrum /> In 1907, the entire Englewood operation was moved to Tellico Junction to take advantage of the railroad.  The following year, Tellico Junction was renamed Englewood and the original milltown subsequently became known as "Old Englewood".<ref name=burney />

[[File:Englewood-textile-museum-tn1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Display at the Englewood Textile Museum]]

In 1917, Chestnutt formed the Englewood Manufacturing Company, which built a hosiery mill at Englewood.<ref name=burney /><ref name=byrum />  Englewood grew to include housing for 300 workers, and had its own company stores, sawmill, and school.<ref name=burney /> The tenement section associated with the Eureka Cotton Mill became known as "Yellow Top", the section associated with the hosiery mill became known as "Socktown", and the section associated with the flour mill was called "Onion Hill".<ref name=byrum /> Women worked at the mills in large numbers, mainly as weavers, while most supervisory positions were held by men.<ref name=burney />

During the [[Great Depression]], the Englewood mills were forced to close, and many of the town's residents joined various federal work programs. During [[World War II]], the Eureka Cotton Mill was refurbished by the United National Clothing Center, which made clothing for donations to wartorn countries. Several mills and factories established operations at Englewood over subsequent decades, but most had shut down by the late 1990s.<ref name=burney /> The last of the Englewood mills, Allied Hosiery, closed its doors in 2008.<ref>[http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=65875&provider=rss McMinn County Mill Shuts Down, Leaving 45 Jobless].  ''WBIR.com'', October 6, 2008. Retrieved: July 23, 2009.</ref> The Englewood Textile Museum, near the corner of Niota Street and Main Street, interprets the town's manufacturing history.