Click image to enlarge. The Lowe Mill Village is one of the state's most outstanding and intact examples of an early-twentieth-century mill village. Lowe Mill started as a cotton textile mill in 1900 and is the only historical textile mill building still standing in Huntsville. In the 1940s it was converted to General Shoe/Genesco and in the 1960s produced most--if not all--combat boots used in the Vietnam War. Within the nominated area lie approximately 400 residential structures and sires demonstrative of the development of the village, from classic shotgun houses to bungalow to pyramidal hipped-roof dwellings.
The art deco 1940s Centre Theatre and Drugstore and former J. C. Brown's Mercantile are two of the most significant existing commercial buildings associated with the village. The area has suffered from improper zoning and development, demolitions within the neighborhood, and practice burnings by the Huntsville Fire Department. Several groups, including the Lowe Mill Village Association and West Huntsville Civic Association, are actively working to revitalize the neighborhood, with an emphasis on retaining its character.
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