Southern Power Company Transformer House
(ca. 1908)
The Southern Power Company Transformer House is one of only two surviving buildings associated with the original Delburg Cotton Mill.
210 Delburg St, Davidson, NC 28036
Encouraged by the success of the Linden Cotton Mill that opened on Depot Street in 1890, the Delburg Cotton Mill opened in 1908. Unlike its predecessor, however, the Delburg Mill boasted a modern facility with the most technologically advanced equipment of that era, including automatic fire extinguishers and water hydrants outside the mill. The Delburg Mill was also among the earliest in the county to be designed as an electric powered mill, thanks to the adjacent Southern Power Company Transformer House. Up until that time, cotton mills were typically powered by coal fired steam that required sizeable boilers for heating. Electricity allowed for the use of much smaller boilers, freeing up valuable floor space in the mill and providing a more efficient means for steam generation.
Property Quick Links
The Southern Power Company Transformer House is a rare surviving example of an early 20th century power transmission building. Along with the now-altered cotton warehouse to the north of the mill campus’ milling building, it is the sole remaining original building from the era of the Delburg Cotton Mill. The tower-like two-story transformer building is designed in the Romanesque Revival architectural style. It features two tall segmental arched openings on the south elevation, with three smaller round-arched window openings perched above and highlighted with corbelled brick work. The east elevation faces the railroad tracks and is pierced with three low segmental arched openings, a doorway centered between two windows at ground level, and five round vents near the eave. The building is sheltered by a hipped roof, topped with a metal ventilator.