Georgia presentation cane circa 1890 gold handgrip engraved: Arthur T. Smith, from his Friends at Exposition Mills, 1890. (Good condition) L35 1/2" *History: The main building for the International Cotton Exposition of 1881 had been built with a view to its ultimate use as a cotton mill. Within a few months after the exposition closed on January 10, 1882, twenty-five men invested $10,000 each to start Exposition Mill. This began what would prove to be the most important manufacturing enterprise in the Atlanta area. On March 4, 1882, Exposition Cotton Mills was issued articles of incorporation with capital stock of $250,000. The mill produced more than 12,000,000 miles of yarn per month, and more than 1,000 miles of woven cloth weighing more than a million pounds. J.P. Stevens & Company of New York sold its production facility and Stevens purchased Exposition Mills in 1960. This textile mill proved to be a very important manufacturing enterprise and assisted the growth of the cotton mill industry in the South.