Prototype. Chapter text drafted from the research notes and not yet checked at the archives. Images awaiting permission are marked.

The Dixie Group

Company · not yet checked at the source

Made by: Chattanooga hosiery-mill owners (backed by John T. Lupton)
Date: founded 1920 (Dixie Mercerizing); carpet from 1951/1993
Place: Chattanooga, Tennessee / Dalton, Georgia
Held by: The Dixie Group
Themes: Machine tufting & Dalton, Companies & modern tufting

View at the source Cited in chapter 11, note 5

Cite this source

Chattanooga hosiery-mill owners (backed by John T. Lupton). “The Dixie Group,” founded 1920 (Dixie Mercerizing); carpet from 1951/1993. The Dixie Group. dixiegroup.com/About/Heritage.

Research notes

Founded 1920 as Dixie Mercerizing Co. to treat cotton yarn for hosiery. The company says it entered carpet in 1951 by buying Dalton Candlewick, a specialty yarn maker; renamed Dixie Yarns in 1965 on moving into high-volume tufting yarns; from 1993 it became a carpet maker by buying Carriage Industries (tufted broadloom) and Masland Carpets; renamed The Dixie Group 1997. Today high-end residential brands (Fabrica, Masland, Dixie Home). Why it matters: shows the yarn-supply side of Dalton's tufting boom and a supplier becoming a manufacturer. Dates: 1920 and 1993 confirmed (company, encyclopedia.com, annual reports); "carpet entry 1951" is the company's framing for a yarn acquisition. Other pages with images: https://www.dixiegroup.com/About/Timeline Independent sources: https://floordaily.net/?p=21672 · https://encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/dixie-group-inc Research note (Oct 2026): facts taken from search-result summaries; the pages themselves weren't opened. Check the cited pages before quoting.