May Hosiery Mills

Who supplied U.S. astronauts with cotton socks for all of the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s? It was the May Hosiery Mill, right here in Wedgewood-Houston. After coming to the United States in 1879, Jacob May arrived in Nashville in the early 1900s to head the Rock City Hosiery Mill. In 1909, he moved operations here and began a family business that would go on to manufacture hosiery, stockings, and socks throughout most of the twentieth century. The mill adapted to and survived changes in technology and trends over the years—producing one million socks per week at its peak. Contracts with the Boy and Girl Scouts of America and several major department stores helped May Hosiery through the Great Depression.

Beginning in 1936, Jacob’s son Mortimer took several trips to Germany to help facilitate the escape of Jewish relatives, friends, and neighbors prior to the start of World War II. The Mays sponsored more than two hundred Jewish refugees applying for visas to leave Nazi Germany for the U.S., and many were later employed at the mill. To help the war effort, May Hosiery also adapted its factory to produce fuses for mortar shells.

With the expansion of synthetic fabrics in the 1950s, the sock market expanded and the mill increased production. In the early 1960s, May Hosiery received a special request from the U.S. Government to make socks for the Apollo program. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore all-cotton socks manufactured at the mill, to avoid the static of synthetic materials. The May family sold the business in 1983 and the mill closed. AJ Capital Partners bought the building in March of 2019 and plan to redevelop the mill to house a hotel, Apple Music, and other businesses. Nashville based Tuck Hinton architects call this area home, with offices in the complex and have made this restoration and redesign a reality. Explore and enjoy the May Hosiery Mill—an important piece of Nashville history—ready for its next chapter. 

From the historic marker, walk up Chestnut Street, crossing over Martin Street. The first building on your left is our next stop, United Record Pressing Music Distributors.