Cotton Mills of the Jones Falls
Hooperwood Cotton Mill
(built 1904) 3500 Parkdale Avenue
Hooperwood in 2013. Built by the Wm. E. Hooper Corp. in 1904, it was the last — and by 1913 the largest — cotton mill built in the Hampden/Woodberry area.
In 1904, leaving the cotton trust and all their previous assets, W. E. Hooper & Sons built a new, fully electric, independent cotton mill. Nine years later, it was the largest cotton mill in Maryland (McGrain 610, “New Mill Construction” 966).
One unusual feature of Hooperwood Mill was that they spun the cotton threat, wove the cotton duck cloth, and sewed completed canvas bags from the cotton duck, all under one roof. Other mills in the Jones Falls were not creating finished goods (Retail Coalman 96).
W. E. Hooper & Sons supplied canvas goods to the U.S. military in World War I and was diversified enough to be able to work full shifts through the Great Depression. World War II saw employment spike to over 2000 workers. After the war, specialty products — including cotton/asbestos dryer rolls for paper mills, janitorial products, and lubricators for rail car bearings — were able to keep the mill in business despite competition from Southern mills and Asia. The company was sold to a family friend of the family in 1988, and closed around 1993 (Hooper). [Though I have head from a photographer who has a studio there that the family friend still runs a loom on the premesis. —DN]
Eventually sold to a development company, Hooperwood Mill is currently occupied by a variety of small businesses.