Woods Cotton Mill/Wheaton Plastics

Source

The Mays Landing division of the Woods Cotton Mill was established in 1867. At the time it was one of the largest employers in region. At the company's 50th anniversary they they built the iconic building along Rt. 559.

Three years later the company installed a hydroelectric dam and re established themselves as the Mays Landing Water Power Company.

The mill closed in 1949 after 82 years in business. The property didn't stay idle long though. It was purchased and reopened the following year by the rapidly growing Wheaton Industries. Wheaton was a Millville based glass container company  who used the Mays Landing site to manufactured plastic bottles and cosmetic jars. 

Alcon, a Montreal based company who had acquired the business announced it would be closed by October of 2004. Though only 74 people worked at the Mays Landing site at the time, the closure was part of a broader exodus on manufacturing jobs throughout the region. 

The machinery was removed from the site and repurpossed at other nearby Alcon facilities. Mays Landing didn't want the property to sit abandoned, so the Mill Complex Redevelopment Plan was announced in 2005. Tragically, a large fire destroyed several original buildings on the property in September 2007 during the conversion process. 

The 1917 builing and powerhouse were mostly built of concrete, so they managed to escape the fire without any damage. The charred remains of the 1800's buildings were demolished, and the renovation plans were dashed. 

Finally by 2023 new plans were announced that a Weehawken based redevelopment group would try once again to convert the site to apartments.

As of 2025 the complex still sits abandoned, waiting to find a new life.