John Milton Odell

John Milton Odell (January 20, 1831 – July 21, 1910) was an American industrialist and Confederate officer from Concord, North Carolina. He organized M Company, 22nd North Carolina Regiment and served as its captain during the American Civil War. He is considered one of the New South industrialists who flourished in the postwar era.

Biography

Early life He was born on January 20, 1831, to James and Anna O'Dell, farmers from Cedar Falls, North Carolina. His great-grandfather Nehemiah O'Dell was an Irish immigrant. After graduating from Middleton Academy, he became a schoolteacher at the age of 20. In 1856, he began working as a salesman for the Cedar Falls Manufacturing Company. His brother Laban served as first lieutenant in the same company. and was president of the Concord National Bank and the Concord Electric Light Company.

During these years, Odell built a luxurious home on North Union Street and Buffalo Avenue in Concord, with a wraparound porch, carriage house, and central bay.

During his lifetime, he was president of several other companies including the Salisbury Cotton Mills, the Pearl Cotton Mills, the Southern Cotton Mills , the Cannon Manufacturing Company, the Magnolia Mills, and the Kerr Bag Manufacturing Company. Communities typically grew around these mills, marked by the appearance of churches and schoolhouses.

Odell encouraged the young men who worked in his factories to play an active role in local church and political organizations. The social changes brought by industrialists like Odell had the effect of marginalizing older men and farmers who had previously played prominent roles in the community.

Later life and death In 1889, Odell's wife Rebecca died. He remarried in 1891 to Addie A. White. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Concord.