Alamance played a significant role in the development of the textile industry in the South. In 1837 Edwin Michael Holt, son of a local farmer, built the Alamance Cotton Mill at Alamance. In 1849, Holt began converting this spinning mill into a looming mill that produced the well-known "Alamance Plaids." This was the first factory-dyed cotton cloth produced south of the Potomac. The Holt family subsequently built scores of mills across the state, as well as becoming involved in banking, railroads, politics and other ventures.