Don S. Holt was reelected president of Cannon Mills and named Chairman of the Board, following the death of Charles A. Cannon in April 1971. He is only the third leader of the company in its eighty-four-year history and the first who does not bear the Cannon name. Cannon Mills is the world's largest manufacturer of household textiles. Holt is featured in this month's WE THE PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S North Carolina Businessman in the News.
Harold P. Hornaday has held the titles of president, chairman, chief executive officer of Cannon Mills. In the eighty-nine year of the company, he is only the fourth man to direct its operations. Hornaday is featured in We the People of North Carolina magazine's Businessman in the News.
Harold M. Messmer, Jr. went from a promising corporate lawyer in California to a textile manufacturing executive in Kannapolis. He currently is president and chief operating officer of the Cannon Mills Company in Kannapolis. We the People of North Carolina magazine features him in Businessman in the News section.
James W. Cannon is an initial member of the NORTH CAROLINA magazine Business Hall of Fame. He is the founder of the Cannon Manufacturing Company (later Cannon Mills) in Kannapolis. In 1898, one of his plants began production of what was to become the world-famous Cannon towels.
Kannapolis in Cabarrus County has the distinction of being the home of Cannon Mills, the largest towel factory in the world. With a population of 12,000 and no elected city officials, it is the largest unincorporated town in the nation.
Dean recounts the life and accomplishments of J. W. Cannon, who started his first cotton mill in 1888 in Kannapolis. It has grown into one of the largest textile industries in the South.
Cannon Mills’ company identity became associated with Cabarrus County and Concord. Today, its image reflects non-profit rather than profit based pursuits. Descendants of its founders are investing in higher education institutions across the state like Brevard College and local charities like Cabarrus Red Cross. The family’s hometown, touted as the 11th fastest growing city in North Carolina, shows economic promise in historic buildings such as the renovated Hotel Concord, slated to contain forty apartments and five commercial spaces.
"The once 'dead' mill town has come back to life with a revitalization strategy similar to Durham's. It is a new antidote to Charlotte's skyrocketing real estate prices." In 1982,California billionaire, David Murdock bought then struggling Cannon Mills and all of Kannapolis. Kannapolis incorporated as a city two years later.