John Adams Marchant

J.A. Marchant

The appearance of John A. Marchant marked a significant event in the history of the pre-war mill. For the first time in over a decade, perhaps longer, the enterprise was lodged under the direction of one man.
But more important, his purchase brought the mill into the hands of the Marchant family which for some sixty years would be the mainspring behind the growth and expansion of the business. From 1852 until 1864 John A. Marchant had an intimate connection with the Charlottesville Factory; after that date, his son, Henry Clay Marchant, took up the burden and during the next forty-five years welded the firm into a substantial and eminently successful business structure which endures to this day. The Marchants, therefore, bear closer examination.--Harry Poindexter