Catherine Evans Whitener

Catherine Evans Whitener (August 10, 1880 – June 2, 1964) was a rural artisan credited with reviving and expanding the tufted textile industry in northwest Georgia. In 2001 she was named a Georgia Woman of Achievement.[1]

Catherine Evans Whitener
BornAugust 10, 1880
Walker County, Georgia
DiedJune 2, 1964
Whitfield County, Georgia
Parents
  • William R. Evans (father)
  • Nancy A. Nuckolls (mother)

Early life

Catherine Evans Whitener was born on August 10, 1880 in Walker County, Georgia to William R. Evans and Nancy A. Nuckolls. She was the second of seven children. She stopped going to school after fifth grade, a common practice for rural Georgia girls in the late nineteenth century.[2] At the age of 12, while on a visit to her cousin, Whitener saw a tufted quilt, and became interested in the unique style. She practiced the technique known as tufting, and mastered the craft at the young age of 15.[1] The very first quilt she made was a gift for her brother's wedding. Her relatives took notice of her craft, and she began to sell her works to them. This became the start of a booming industry.[3]

Career

Whitener's business soon evolved from hand sewn quilts, to machine made carpets.[4] She operated the business from her home and hired women neighbors to help her keep up with demand.[5] By 1900, Whitener was selling her bedspreads for $2.50. Her sales were so successful that other people began joining the industry. As the industry grew, thousands of the hand-tufted bedspreads and carpets were sold, and with the help of her family Whitener opened the Evans Manufacturing Company in 1917.[6] Other women were inspired by Whitener's ingenuity, and soon textile companies were opening all across Georgia.

Legacy

Whitener’s tufting industry eventually expanded to include bath mats, accent rugs, and carpets. Her carpets were especially successful, and her techniques were lasting. Today, over 90 percent of carpets produced in the U.S. today are tufted using Whitener’s early techniques.[7] She never had the chance to make millions off the industry, however, many Georgia men and women did in later days. Dalton, Georgia, prior to the Silicon Valley boom, was the city with the most millionaires per capita in the United States; all part of Whitener’s legacy.[1] Dalton became known as the “Carpet Capital of the World,” and in the 1990s, 90 percent of the world's carpets were being produced in or around this small city.[8]

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References
  1. "Whitener, Catherine Evans". Georgia Women of Achievement. 21 April 2016. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016.
  2. Knight, Lydia (2009). "From Quilts to Chenille Bedspreads to Carpets". Now and Then: Journal of Appalachia – via Proquest.
  3. Engelbreit, Mary (19 September 1999). "Chenille Industry Got Start From an 1895 Bedspread". Calgary Herald. ProQuest 244849206.
  4. Putnam, Yolanda (14 March 2010). "Exhibit honors Georgia women". Chattanooga Times Free Press. ProQuest 371438970.
  5. Patton, Randall (24 September 2009). "Catherine Evans, Addie Evans, and the Creation of the Bedspread Industry". Peacock Alley. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016.
  6. Russell, Nancy (20 July 2006). "LET'S TALK ANTIQUES; Unique bedspread design enjoying a resurgenc". ProQuest 379203464.
  7. Teel, Leonard Ray (1986). "How Dalton Became the Carpet Capital". Georgia Trend. 2. ProQuest 234353496.
  8. Bluestein, Greg (27 Jan 2013). "Rebound Rebound: When the bottom fell out of Dalton's carpet industry, Oscar Reyes saw an opportunity". ProQuest 1281892989.
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