by Scott Sessoms
Seventeen miles west of Chapel Hill an old cotton mill has sprung back to life. But itâs not spinning cotton any more. Itâs now a destination for concerts, art, food and new business in the rural town of Saxapahaw.
Listen closely, and youâll hear the river gushing over large rocks and the birds. Â This is what youâre likely to hear out in Saxapahaw, a small town that hugs a wide, rocky section of the Haw River. Â Itâs not always quiet though. Â On Saturday afternoons thousands arrive to a farmerâs market and outdoor concert. Â Some evenings, youâll hear live music echoing out of a newly constructed music hall.
The center of Saxapahaw is now a restored cotton mill â three stories tall and about a city block long. Â It was empty when Linda Pucci moved here in 2001.
âThe mill itself was derelict,â Pucci said. âBroken windows, cars, junk and scrap. It was just a mess. There was nothing else here. You went across the bridge, turned right and you saw these derelict buildings and you just drove on. You werenât going to stop.â
But Mac Jordan, whose family owned the mill for 50 years, wasnât ready to see the town wither away. Â As a student at Duke, his masterâs thesis was a plan to transform the old mill. After graduating, Jordan put the plan into action – as the developer of Saxapahaw Rivermill Village.
âI had developed a program which was pretty simple, really,â Jordan said. âWe didnât want to be just a suburb. We wanted a true billage where people could hang-out, socialize, eat and work.â
Jordan and his team had a couple things going for them. The town is close enough to the Triangle to attract people who want to work in the city, and live in the country. Â And Jordan, grandson of the late Senator B. Everett Jordan, had access to capital to pursue the grand vision.
Jordan secured financing for the risky investment, found architects and began construction. Five-years later, this former dusty, old mill is now full of unique living spaces and diverse businesses.
Heather LaGarde and her husband created the a âmusic series and farmerâs marketâ event known as Saturdays-In-Saxapahaw , which led to the opening of a large live music venue: Â the Haw River Ballroom.
âIt was a really crazy idea to try and do a very large music venue in the middle of the country,â LaGarde said. âBut, itâs such a beautiful space. We just felt like we could do it.â
Conor Oberst, Gillian Welsh, The Drive By Truckers, as well as Grammy award winnersLucinda Williams and Patty Griffin, have all played the Haw River Ballroom.
LaGarde says this is how she would describe Saxapahaw – to someone whoâs never been.
âI would describe it as a magical river village thatâs just one of the prettiest places Iâve ever seen,â LaGarde said. âItâs so small and so dominated by the river, that the river kind of protects the town from ever getting overdeveloped, which we love.â
Keep in mind, all of this is happening in a really, really small town.  No shopping malls, no highways and a population of 2,000 people. Jordan â the developer â  isnât seeking massive expansion.
âThis might come as a shock, being from a developer, but no, we donât want growth,â Jordan said. âI mean, we want some growth, but we want to maintain quality of life and preserve as much open space as possible. Again, the aesthetic is what is attractive.â
With the conversion of the closed down cotton mill, into a vibrant new town center, Saxapahaw seems reborn, and who knows where the momentum will lead.
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