The Athens Factory produced and sold fabric that was intended to be used by enslavers to clothe their human property. This advertisement ran in the Southern Banner on October 23rd, 1840 (page 3).
After the Athens Manufacturing Company acquired the Cook and Brother Armory in 1870, it began producing finer weaves. They became well known for their “heavy Georgia checks.” (Image courtesy of the Hargrett Library at UGA.)
Robert Bloomfield, President of the Athens Manufacturing Company, won the award for “Best Ginghams” at the Southern States Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition in New Orleans in 1876. (Image courtesy of the Hargrett Library at UGA.)