{"id":444,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:48:36","latitude":41.67749764999999939618646749295294284820556640625,"longitude":-86.2455775433911213667670381255447864532470703125,"title":"Stephenson Underwear Mills","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/1d182fc16acb16b2e44998e4eac53731.jpg","address":"322 E. Colfax Ave, South Bend, IN 46617","all_locations":[],"zoom":15,"creator":["Jacqueline Lopez"],"description":"Origin of the Mills
Although South Bend citizens remembers the Stephenson Underwear Mills as men’s and women’s underwear makers, the company started as a wool mill. In 1855, Alexander C. “A.C.” Staley and Jeremiah Sowry started milling wool -- converting raw wool from sheep into finished textiles -- in an attempt to open trade for farmers in nearby Plymouth, Indiana. Going solo, Staley grew his prospects by relocating to South Bend’s East Race waterway in 1863. The business was an early adopter of water-powered machinery. Staley wasn’t alone in the local wool milling business. His competitors included Mishawaka Woolen Manufacturing Company, dating to 1838, and South Bend Woolen Company, established in 1869.

The Staley mills turned into a family business when Staley’s three sons joined him as partners in 1881. During this time, the three-story facility solely made yarn. Focus did not shift to underwear production until 1888, the same year the first of the Stephenson brothers, Clinton B., joined the company. A change in leadership occurred a year later, when A.C. Staley passed away and his son Marion B. Staley inherited the company.

Forming South Bend’s Memory
The Stephenson Underwear Mills officially came to be when the four Stephenson brothers bought out Staley in 1907. They continued to build on their riverside site and in 1916 broke ground on Building Number 6. Designed by the Chicago engineers Lockwood, Greene & Company, it used reinforced concrete and maple floors. This building connected to the rest of the plant via a bridge, forming a nine-building complex.

The company once again transformed in the 1920s as Stephenson increased their marketing efforts. No longer worried about expanding their production capacity, instead they focused on advertising their products for wholesale. They successfully provided long underwear called “Union Suits” and other undergarments throughout the United States and fulfilled military contracts in WWI. However, the company’s finances were not strong when the Great Depression hit. Heavily indebted, the second generation of Stephensons, Albert and George, abandoned the mill for other employment opportunities. Stephenson Underwear Mills became another business that could not make it out of the Great Depression.

Building No. 6
The Alexander Company gave Building Number 6, the only remaining Stephenson Mills structure, a second life in 1994. It was repurposed into 39 apartments known as the Stephenson Mills Apartments. Many original features, like exposed concrete, brick walls, and wood plank ceilings were reincorporated in the remodel. Additionally, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 1995. This residential transformation paved the way for more of South Bend’s factory buildings to serve new purposes.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["“A Look Back: Mill in Industrial Heart of South Bend.” South Bend Tribune, 4 Jan. 2016. https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/","McGraw; Hill. “Addition to Stephenson Underwear Mills.” Textile World Journal 53 (1917): 49-51. https://books.google.com/books","“Stephenson Underwear Mill.” National Register of Historic Places, 3 Feb. 1995. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/929cde83-2318-4453-9136-a56027e1107b","“Stephenson Mills.” The Alexander Company, http://www.alexandercompany.com/projects/stephenson-mill/","“Stephenson Underwear Mills.” The History Museum, https://historymuseumsb.org/stephenson-underwear-mills/"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/1d182fc16acb16b2e44998e4eac53731.jpg":{"id":1988,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Stephenson Mills","description":"The Stephenson Mills Apartments now occupy the former industrial building near the St. Joseph River. | St. Joseph County Public Library | 2 August 2019 | Melody Lutz","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/1d182fc16acb16b2e44998e4eac53731.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/c48986c973acef32029507d79349c162.jpg":{"id":1990,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Staley Mills","description":"Staley Manufacturing Company’s mill stands along the East Race before it was bought out by the Stephenson Brothers in 1907. | The History Museum, South Bend, Indiana | 1907","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/c48986c973acef32029507d79349c162.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/0f42dc93a2cdca0c99dc7ea7c60066ae.jpg":{"id":1989,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Staley Employees","description":"A group of Staley Knit and Underwear Manufacturing Company employees pose in front of a secondary structure located behind the main brick building. | The History Museum, South Bend, Indiana | ca. 1900s","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/0f42dc93a2cdca0c99dc7ea7c60066ae.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/bf743ddceed758639aa586225ad69248.jpg":{"id":1991,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"River View","description":"Under the Stephenson Brothers’ ownership the mills campus grew along the St. Joseph River, seen here from the opposite bank. | The History Museum, South Bend, Indiana | ca. 1910","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/bf743ddceed758639aa586225ad69248.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/fb062a1ed1055e5e2bf05f50eb7f6ed5.jpg":{"id":1994,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Factory Complex","description":"By 1916, the Stephenson Underwear Mills occupied a sizable factory complex adjacent to the St. Joseph River. |

\"Through South Bend Industries,\" September 1, 1916, South Bend Today, p. 7. https://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/digital/collection/p16827coll8/id/5536/rec/18

| 1 September, 1916 | South Bend Today","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/fb062a1ed1055e5e2bf05f50eb7f6ed5.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/e6ec763ec008a73c6765fa81a37ec234.jpg":{"id":1993,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Adverisement","description":"This 1913 advertisement shows a variety of Stephenson products for sale at Wyman’s, a local store. | \"At the Wyman Store,\" September 27, 1913, South Bend News-Times, p. 12. | 27 September, 1913 | South Bend News-Times","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/e6ec763ec008a73c6765fa81a37ec234.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/fullsize/78b91d35fd7d23e38f4e3cae4e1a9251.jpg":{"id":1992,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Ad Campaign","description":"Stephenson Underwear Mills were using some creative campaigns to sell men’s “Union Suit” underwear in an eastern Illinois newspaper. | \"Stephenson Underwear,\" December 3, 1915, Rock Island Argus, p. 13. | 3 December, 1915 | Rock Island Argus","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/78b91d35fd7d23e38f4e3cae4e1a9251.jpg"}}}