Patrick Stakem

Savage Factory, Cotton to Canvas, by Water & Steam Patrick Stakem

Export of the cotton to England and France was a major money-maker for plantation owners. Cotton Milling started in Maryland in the 18th century, using Southern cotton, and continued into the 20th century. The technology for automating the process was developed in England, and perfected in New England. Industrialization was not well developed in the South, but the region was good for cotton growth. Savage Mill is a facility along the North bank of the little Patuxent River, in the Town of the same name. It was a working mill from 1822 to 1947. There was adequate water power most of the year, and the area was used for water-powered mills since the middle of the 18th Century. Savage Mill operated from 1811 through 1929. The original facility included the mill, 500 acres of land, a warehouse, a flour mill, saw mill, and later, an iron furnace and forge. The Town that built up around the Mill was mostly company housing, and it was named after the man who bankrolled the project, John Savage of Philadelphia. The Savage operation was not just a cotton mill sited near abundant water power. The facility had to produce it's own parts and machinery, so it included an iron furnace, and shops for producing parts and machinery. These products were also sold to other Mill operators. The shops also produced machinery for the U. S. Government's Harper's Ferry Arsenal. Being rather remote, the facility produced whatever it needed from local raw materials. In 1846, The Savage Manufacturing Company sold looms and steam power engines for the Powhatan Cotton Factory in Baltimore.