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The Clarksville Button Factory was established in April of 1904 after two men from the Business Men's Association travelled to Memphis, Tennessee and witnessed the success of Memphis's button factory. The men were granted $25,000 to get the factory started and the old Dortch Mill was remodeled to be used as the factory.
Clarksville was an ideal location for the button factory due to its close proximity to the river. The main material needed for button making were mussels, which are found in abundance in the Cumberland River.
The Button Factory brought a new market to Montgomery County as well as jobs to the county's citizens. Many individuals were attracted to the factory as the work was not labor intensive and even an average worker could earn a living wage.
To make a button, truckloads of mussels were brought to the factory where the shells were deposited into large vats full of cold water. The shells would soak for three days after which they were steamed to make them less brittle and cooked to make for easy removal of the meat. Employees at the factory would then cut small circles, in varying diameters, out of the shells to fashion a button as we know it. Excess shells were used to line streets and turnpikes and were also used as ground up chicken feed which produced more revenue for the factory and limited their waste.
Today, you can still find mussel shells with circles cut from them in the Cumberland River.
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