Click image to enlarge. Associated with one of Alabama’s most significant early twentieth-century textile operations, Mignon, the Avondale mill village in Sylacauga, now represents the demise of this once-great industry. Founded in 1897, Avondale chose Braxton Bragg Comer, a successful businessman and future governor of Alabama, to be its president, and the company became known for its progressive labor policies.
Constructed in the mid-1910s, Mignon is typical of similar villages found throughout Alabama, which provided affordable housing and fostered a strong sense of community. With the decline of the textile industry, however, the village became a shadow of its former self, retaining only vestiges of the design and character that defined it in the past. Recently, the Avondale Mill was destroyed by fire, emphasizing once again the fragility of the historic mills that still exist in our state. The efforts of former and current residents of Mignon must be met with support from the larger community if this once-thriving village is to be preserved.
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