Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 4.djvu/173

Rh there was plenty to keep a small mill going if we could only get the mill." Being interested in sheep himself Watt was anxious to make that industry profitable. He believed that the time had come when woolen goods on a considerable scale could be manufactured at a profit; that the cheapness of raw material would overbalance the high price of labor.

Watt had no personal knowledge of woolen mills but there were in Oregon, at the time, two millwrights who understood the subject and were anxious to be employed in such an enterprise. As the subject was canvassed the interest grew. In 1855, therefore, articles of incorporation were drawn up for the erection of a woolen mill to be located somewhere in the Willamette Valley. Subscriptions to stock were sought and offers of bonuses solicited. The articles provided that the capital stock should be $25,000, and that when $9,000 was paid in a meeting should be held to decide upon the location of the mill. A committee of five was appointed to take charge of the matter. The meeting to decide upon location was held at Dallas when the requisite amount of stock was paid in. It was a meeting of considerable importance, as much rivalry had arisen regarding the location. One party wished it to be placed on the Luckiamute, west of the Polk County hills, and the other desired it to be located at Salem on the east side of the hills. Lively work had been done; the party favorable to the Salem location had secured a bonus worth about $7,000 and had control of the voting stock. Considerable scheming, preliminary to the vote occurred, and when it was taken "you could hear a pin drop," says Watt. The result was favorable to the Salem site, and plans were begun for the construction. Within a few weeks all the stock was paid in and the company had possession of a piece of land for the mill. A board of five directors was elected and orders