North American Rayon Corporation

he North American Rayon Corporation was one of two major rayon manufacturing plants located in the east Tennessee city of Elizabethton, along the banks of the Watauga River. Beginning in the late 1920s, German and Dutch business investors established the plants (Bemberg and NARC) in the community, producing rayon material for both U.S. domestic and export markets. The factories were controlled by the German-Dutch Algemene Kunstzijde Unie (AKU). During World War II the United States government seized managerial control of these critical facilities. A post-war hiring apex of the Elizabethton rayon industry occurred in 1949 when over 6,100 employees were working at both of the Elizabethton rayon mills. The NARC facility — later owned by Beaunit Corporation out of New York — utilized rail for inbound and outbound carloading, connecting to the domestic rail market via interchange with shortline East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad, which in turn interchanged with the Clinchfield and the Southern Railway in nearby Johnson City. What production remained during the 1990s ended when a major fire destroyed most of the factory buildings. North American Rayon's fireless steam locomotive #1, the long-time plant switcher, is preserved on display in Elizabethton.