Smith River Small Towns

We are Bassett, Fieldale, Stanleytown, and Koehler and we have Deep Roots in Textile and Furniture manufacturing. Our factories have made products sold all over the world. Our skilled craftsmen built furniture at the Bassett and Stanleytown Factories, and spinners made towels at Fieldcrest Mills. We are tremendously proud of this heritage. While some of the mills have closed, you can still experie

nce that traditional mill village life today. Many of us still have ties to the factories, which instilled in us the traditional values we hold today. We are a tight-knit, hard-working, friendly community where our neighbors and friends strive to take care of each other. We are communities where you can still go to the old filling station to talk about the day, play basketball with your friends at the Community Centers, or meet up with neighbors for fellowship and fun. That nostalgic quality of life that other communities strive for is still alive and well in our Small Towns today. Our communities were founded by industries using the Smith River waters to power their bustling factories. While the Smith is ingrained in our communities’ past, it also represents a bright economic future. The new economy that is emerging is one that looks to tap into the active use of our natural resources. Beginning at the dam on Philpott Lake, the fifteen magical miles of the Smith weave through our Small Towns offering hiking, fishing, boating, and biking experiences, among others. Each community is in a sense a trail head for the river, and we look to capitalize on an active economy. From the smokestack that proudly says Fieldcrest, to Bassett Furniture’s headquarters that remain here today, we are a snapshot in time of the working mill towns of the past. Our story is one of Sawdust and Lint, the Tale of American Makers.