locally owned

Unlike his father, Marchant never owned a majority interest in the Woolen Mill. At the time of his death HCM held 302 shares of Woolen Mills stock.-Albemarle County FB13 Page 448

What Northern capital seeped into the company prior to 1882 came mainly in the form of credit rather than the sale of stock. Thereby the mill deviated somewhat from the pattern followed by many industries in the New South, especially by cotton textile mills. The general method was to finance purchases of machinery from the North by selling the manufacturer stock in Southern enterprises.
Under the charter, capitalization was limited to a minimum of $50,000 and a maximum of $200,000, to be raised through the sale of stock at fifty dollars a share. Operations were placed under an eleven-man directory, selected annually by the stockholders and functioning through officers selected from and by the board. Five directors constituted a quorum. --Harry Poindexter