Fieldale, Virginia is located in Henry County near the 1756 site of Fort Trial. The fort was George Washington's most southern outpost offering protection to the hunters and trappers living along the colonial frontier. By 1768 that same extended area belonged to a landowner named George Waller whose home was located very near the eventual site of the town of Fieldale. During the Revolutionary War period Waller, now known as Colonel Waller, trained militia on a drill field near the Smith River. In March of 1781, Colonel Waller marched 16 companies of militia 70 miles south to Hillsborough, NC in support of General Adam Stevens in the Battle of Guilford Court House.

In 1776 the area containing Waller broke off from Pittsylvania and became know as Henry County in honor of Patrick Henry. Later, after the Civil War, the future Fieldale area was still know as Waller and was a rural area. Tobacco was the chief source of income for Henry Countians and the Danville and Western Railroad completed its line to Martinsville, the county seat, in 1882 to serve that market. But small tobacco factories were soon absorbed by larger firms and by 1906 hardly a single tobacco factory remained in operation.

Around the turn of the last century industry began to change Henry County and much of the south as well. Just across the border in North Carolina a man named Franklin Mebane, developed big plans for a textile company manufacturing terry cloth towels. He built 7 mills on the 600 acres he had purchased in and around the Leaksville, Spray and Draper area - known today as Eden, NC. But in 1910 a business recession forced Mebane to sell his mills to Marshall Field and Company of Chicago, IL.

Marshall Field renamed the factories 'Fieldcrest Mills' and established their headquarters in Eden. In 1916 Marshall Field began looking about for an area in which they might expand their mill. They contacted Heck Ford, Martinsville's one man Chamber of Commerce, who led them to the Waller area. The area suited them perfectly. The proposed site lay between 2 rail lines, the Norfolk and Western and the Danville and Western, and beside the Smith River. By 1917 the transaction was complete and Marshall Field owned 1800 acres of land in Henry County on the site of George Waller's plantation.

A construction boom followed as land was cleared and a plant and warehouse covering almost 4 acres was completed; Fieldale became a reality. The first hard surfaced road in Henry County was built during this period to connect Martinsville with Fieldale. Houses were added followed by a hotel, lodge, school, community center and stores. And so Henry County began to industrialize. Many people left the farm to take jobs in the factory. These people knew long hours, hard work and perfection in all their tasks. They brought the work ethic they had learned on the farm to the mill.

In 2006 we celebrate the lives of these people, many long gone, and the valuable lessons they taught us. Without these people Fieldcrest Mills would have been nothing. Through determination and hard work they built a town and a meaningful life for themselves, their children and grandchildren. They produced goods that became world famous for quality. The sacrifices they made and the wealth they generated built the life we enjoy today.