took over as president in 1913 and remained in the position through World War I (1917-18). Three years later, in 1916, Bibb expanded further by building the Osprey Mill in Porterdale.

Mill Communities

As the company grew, so did the surrounding mill communities. Bibb provided company housing, churches, and schools; other structures included swimming pools, auditoriums, and gymnasiums. By the 1920s each of the Bibb communities also had an on-site social worker who implemented clubs, athletic programs, and medical care.

America's involvement in World War I proved profitable for the company. In 1919 William D. Anderson, who had started at Bibb Manufacturing as a salesman in 1898, became president. He remained in charge for the next twenty-eight years.

Depression Era

Like mills all over the South, Bibb experienced problems and worker unrest withthe onset of the Great Depression. In 1934 there was a general textile strike that involved thousands of workers. At the time Anderson was also president of the American Cotton Manufacturer's Association, which supported mill owners. But he also felt a responsibility to his loyal employees. Anderson called in the National Guard to stand watch over Bibb mills during the strike. This action locked out strikers and kept the mills from unionizing.

In 1937 Bibb acquired another Columbus mill, the Meritas Mill, and renamed it the Anderson Mill. During World War II (1941-45) the company was the largest war-industry producer in Georgia. William Anderson retired in 1947, but Bibb continued to grow under his successor, Charles Hertwig. In the next decades the company acquired more mills in Georgia, including