Peacock Alley

A Brief History Of
The Tufted Textile Industry
Of Dalton, Georgia

Many years ago, in a small town in the mountains of North Georgia, a cottage industry began. Local people began to hand tuft cotton chenille spreads. What started as a hobby, and caught on as a way for a poverty-stricken people to feed and clothe their families, continued to become an industry of worldwide importance: the tufted-textile industry. The small town of Dalton, Georgia, has grown to be a small city. That small city is now called by the deserving title, "The Carpet Capital of the World." This history will tell the story of the people and the perseverance that brought Dalton into its position as a major manufacturing city in the carpet industry. It will tell about the young girl, Catherine Evans Whitener, who is widely credited as the one who started it all. It will tell the story of Old Highway 41, also known as Peacock Alley.