Grayson County TXGenWeb

The Gate City Hosiery Mill, the first knitting mill built in the state, could manufacture 100 dozen men's hose, 100 dozen ladies' hose and 100 dozen children's hose every day. That mill moved here in the 1890s because of the availability of cotton that was used in producing the hose.
The cotton market here had been the best anywhere in North Texas, according to the above Denison and Sherman City Directory. The facilities offered by the cotton compress and competing freight lines allowed merchants to pay from $3 to $5 per bale for cotton, more than any other market. Shipments from Denison up to January 1, 1876, amounted to 37,000 bales.
It was the operation of a brick factory that started the Gate City Hosiery Mill. An article dated July 4, 1900, was published in the Dallas Morning News and told of the efforts of the Commercial Club bringing the first knitting mill in Texas to Denison. It was estimated that the operation would begin in 90 days and that new machinery had been ordered from New England for a building site downtown. No address was given.
The story related how in 1898 two men had built a knitting mill in Atlanta, Georgia, and began making hosiery on a small scale. Their product was sold in Texas after a member of the firm came to the state. More and more people bought the hosiery until most of what they manufactured was sold in Texas. As sales increased the men decided it was time to enlarge their operation and one of the owners, who had traveled here, said Texas would be a better location than Atlanta.
It was decided that by moving to Texas the mill would be in the cotton fields that surrounded the area and the territory where the goods were sold would be at the mill.
Denison Cotton Mill had just started manufacturing cotton yarn and that was a plus for the industry. Owners of the mill came to Denison to talk with city leaders about moving here and enlarging the operation if Denison capital would take a share of stock and the Commercial Club did.
The knitting mill was incorporated under the name of the Gate City Hosiery Mill. That's about all that is known of the mill and how long it operated here also is not known. ---Donna Hunt, "Denison Has a Mill Town History," Denison Herald, January 6, 2015

During the 1800s, the fibers used in hosiery changed over from woolen to cotton. (Glamour Daze: a vintage fashion and beauty archive)

The 1901 Denison City Directory lists the business as follows: "Gate City Hosiery Mills. W. A. Tibbs, president; C. A. DePuy, vice president; Hiram Brooks, treasurer; Frank J. DePuy, secretary. Manufacturers of cotton hosiery. Office and mill at NW corner of West Owings Street and South Chandler Avenue."

F.J. Depuy of Gate City Hosiery Mills in Atlanta was reported attending the second meeting of the Southern Association of Hosiery Manufacturers in January of 1900.

Around the same time, Frank Robinson wrote in his book, Industrial Denison, "The Gate City Hosiery Company, the first knitting mill built in the state, has been in operation a few months and its present daily output of three hundred dozen hose is already sold for a year in advance."

The Denison Press
Tuesday, January 31, 1939

DENISON 62-50-35 YEARS AGO
By Dulce Murray

January 31, 1904
The Gate City Knitting mill, the property of Brooks, Bass and Johnston, was destroyed by fire this Sunday morning. The fire was first discovered at 2:15. The flames had made rapid headway when the fire department arrived, in fact, it was beyond saving. Only one fire plug was available and it was some time before a stream of water was played upon the building. The department had to send after a nozzle which delayed matters. There was apparently no pressure whatever and the water went in jerks out of the nozzle. There might have been 20 streams of water playing on the fire and it would not have done any good. It was a roaring sea of flames by the time the water was turned on. A fierce wind was blowing and it looked at one time as if a row of dwellings on the southside of the square was doomed. The grass on fire, swept up and into the yards. The night watchman, Mr. Hogan, was asleep in the mill and said there was no fire on the premises. He has not the faintest idea how the fire could have started. The machinery in the mill was valued by the owners at $16,000 and there was about $300 worth of dye and material and hose bases and a small quantity of yards. The building was valued at $3,000. The
owners carried only $7,500 insurance on the entire plant. It is stated that there was a deal on tap to put the mill in operation by a St. Louis capitalist and they were here for that purpose Saturday. A price had been set on the property which was agreeable to the St. Louis people.

The Denison Press
February 4, 1939

FEBRUARY 4, 1904
The knitting mill burned on the morning of January 31st, was built by the Gate City Hosiery company in the summer and fall of 1900 and was the first knitting mill erected in the state. It had a capacity of 300 pair of hose per day and when operated at full capacity gave employment to fifty people. Its establishment was due to the efforts of the Denison Commercial club. The company was composed of local capitalists and F.J. and C.A. Depuy of Atlanta, Georgia, who were the principal owners in a knitting mill in Atlanta and were desirous of moving their mill to Texas. They made the Commercial Club a proposition which was accepted. The building was erected and the machinery moved from Atlanta to this city. Considerable money was lost in the venture. Mr. Tibbs losing in actual money $6,000. The stockholders also lost out. The building was constructed of stone, one story, and covered a large space of ground. It was located on Owings street and Chandler avenue, convenient to the Katy tracks.

The 1907 Denison City Directory does not list the mill, suggesting that Gate City Hosiery had gone out of business. However, Nicholas Marsico's Denison Mattress Factory was located at 1001-–1017 West Owings, perhaps the same location.

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