The Kearney Cotton Mill, Part 2 A. The Marketing Plan
Every new business idea must have a plan to present to possible money
sources.
Just as true in 1888 as it is today
1. Power – Kearney Canal would provide cheap power for running the
machines.
Easy access; the canal formed north border of cottonmill site.
2. Labor force – Local farmers’ wives and children (no
child labor laws) could work at the mill
3. Market for the manufactured fabric
a. Less expensive to bring cotton from the south to the Midwest instead of
clear up to the New England states.
b. Sell the cloth in the mid-west without the cost of shipping it in from
New England factories.
B. The Problems with the Plan 1. Power – Canal water not always available (froze in
winter or Platte dried up in summer); had to bring in carloads of coal on
the spur
2. Labor force – Farmers wives and children not interested,
too much work to do on the farm; only a few locals employed
Unemployed mill workers from south and northeast shipped in; never felt they
belonged
Housing west of the mill; isolated form people in town
3. Market
a. Bringing cotton from the south – Rivalry between Burlington & UP
Could not bring cotton from Kearney to on the UP spur; UP rates too high for
transfer
Hauled bales of cotton down Central Avenue in wagons
b. Market for the cloth - Not in Midwest; mostly sold in China
Added expense of freighting charges from Kearney to San Francisco
C. Years of
operation 1892-1901
Barely able financially to stay in business
Opening at end of Boom meant many financial sources in the East dried up
immediately
D. Closing
Machinery shipped to a cotton mill in Evansville, Indiana
Building sat deserted until 1919
Property purchased by proprietor of Midway Hotel (L A Denison) to make an
amusement park
E. Destruction of the building
Feb 1919 - All but northeast corner, one story, was torn down Bricks
& lumber salvaged by Denison Bricks
sold in town for foundations on new houses
F. Destruction of
the smoke stack Location – at northwest corner of the building 28 feet
square base; 125 feet tall
Scheduled for destruction on March 13, 1919
Audience
A truckload of “normalites” brought by Stryker from the Normal School
20 cars of other spectators from town
Came out Watson Boulevard (Seedling Mile of pavement to present day 30th
Ave)
Then through the spring mud almost another mile to the cotton mill site
Preparation
Brick base had been removed
The strong steel cable of a capstan run by horses was attached to a
conveniently located tree and then around the base of the smoke stack as far
down as they could
[capstan: a machine with a spool that turns so that rope or a cable can wind
around it and move or lift
heavy weights (such as a ship's anchor)]
Theory
A sharp pull at the base of the smoke stack would cause the stack to break
into pieces and fall more or less straight down rather than lying straight
out like a tree.
Horses pulled cable tighter & tighter; it snapped
After 4-5 unsuccessful tries, audience gave up & went home
Reality – A small stick of dynamite solved the problem and
the smoke stack came right down