Before the space race brought NASA and a team of German scientists to Huntsville, and before the city became a hub for the defense industry, it was manufacturing that drove the local economy.

Standing at the center of an industrial push by city leaders that began late in the 19th century were the major textile mills – Dallas (1891), Lincoln (1900), Merrimack (1900) and Lowe (1901). All four stopped churning out cotton products by the mid-20th century but still operated in other industries until they all eventually shut down.

Those four shaped Huntsville’s first half of the 20th century and still resonate. There’s The Lofts at Dallas Mills Apartments and Dallas Mill Deli. There’s also the Lincoln Mill and Mill Village Historic District, and districts featuring Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment and the Merrimack Performing Arts Center.

The husband and wife writing tandem of D. Phillip Kaiser and Diane Kurek Kaiser saw potential in the history of the mills and villages and began researching the subject. So far, they have written two books: Dallas Mills, Dallas Village & Dallas People; and Lincoln Mills, Lincoln Village and Lincoln People.

Books about Lowe and Merrimack are in the works.

Museum tour sparks idea

The first two Mill books, along with 40 others by D. Phillip (also known as Darrell), spanning various genres such as historical fiction and faith-based works, are available in multiple languages on Amazon. Among the eclectic offerings are titles like Basic Electrical Troubleshooting for Everyone and Moscow’s Final Solution: The Genocide of the German-Russian Volga Colonies.

Together, the co-authors produced a trilogy about Marathon Motor Works, a Nashville manufacturer that made the first cars in Tennessee in the early 1900s. They also co-authored a book about Diane’s father and his experiences as a World War II tailgunner.

“When creating the Marathon books, I ran into the name Dallas and I went, ‘Hey, Darrell, is that related to Dallas Mills here in Huntsville?’ That was the trigger,’’ Diane said. “He saw that there was a story to be told.’’

Trevanion Barlow Dallas, a mill and industrial engine executive from Nashville, was an investor behind the Dallas Mill. The Tennessee businessman, who saw action at places like Shiloh and Missionary Ridge in the Confederate army, brought the first mill to Huntsville and was an early stockholder.

He also invested in Southern Motor Works in Jackson, Tenn., which built the first Marathon cars before the operation moved to Nashville.

The Kaisers, who spent a lot of time researching in Tennessee for the Marathon trilogy, were looking for a subject closer to home during the Covid pandemic and settled on the mills and their villages.

“We wanted to do something back here, a little closer, instead of having to drive to Jackson, Tennessee or Nashville all the time,’’ said Darrell, who goes by D. Phillip Kaiser in his books. “I always felt like I owed Huntsville something because it’s my second home. We wanted to give something back.’’

Online romance

Diane Kurek Kaiser is originally from Baltimore but grew up in Florida where she attended the University of South Florida. She left teaching after five years, then came to Huntsville in 1986 where she worked 20 years at Intergraph.

Darrell Phillip Kaiser, born in Fresno, Ca., with Volga ancestry, is an Army veteran who also worked closely with the service in civilian roles. The Army, he said, took him around the world “about eight times.’’ He was sent to Kuwait at the age of 48, and later deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. A master sergeant and an expert in helicopters and electrical systems, he was set for another deployment but failed a physical and he was also diagnosed with PTSD. The rigors of Army living in deserts also took a bodily toll.

He landed back in Huntsville, where he was based at Redstone Arsenal for parts of his military and civilian work career. His first wife died in 2012 from cancer. He began journaling, which set him on a course to writing.

“He started it kind of as a therapy after his first wife died,’’ said Diane, who met Darrell online in 2016. “Then he started writing what I would call faith journals, and he published those and that gave him more strength.’’

Diane, likewise, wasn’t unfamiliar with writing, albeit of the non-literary variety as a tech writer among her various careers.

Echoes from the past

The Kaisers introduced their book on Dallas Mill at a meeting where current residents gathered to discuss the upcoming installation of street signs designating streets as part of Dallas Mill Village, prior to the introduction of the Lincoln Mill version.

Dallas Mill was the forerunner of the Big Four. It went out of business in 1949, which is one year before Wernher Von Braun and his team of scientists arrived and began transforming Huntsville from Cotton Row renown to Rocket City fame.

Dallas Mills, Dallas Village & Dallas People includes the names of over 12,500 employees, associates and shareholders. Lincoln Mills, Lincoln Village & Lincoln People features names of over 4,000 employees, associates and shareholders from Madison Spinning Company Mills, Madison Manufacturing Company, Abingdon Mills and Lincoln Mills.

Collecting those names is time consuming research, but something the Kaisers feel is worth it in their effort to publish something unique. Darrell’s deep research includes countless sources listed in the index and end notes. He has 1,000 files on Merrimack alone. Diane focuses on the index and referencing material lifted from other sources.

“We do that on every one of our mills books as we try to do everything we can to get the local connections to the people that actually did it,’’ he added. “And also the people that were outside of the area that had something to do with building it and everything.

“Nobody else has ever done anything like that.’’