In 1905, Jim Cannon designed and purchased 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land in northwestern Cabarrus County, North Carolina.

A strike occurred in the localized Charlotte, North Carolina, area, affecting all textile mills in the region.

Although Cannon called the National Guard to "keep the peace," the strike ended because union officials left town.

Cannon retired in 1962 at the age of seventy and was replaced as president by Donnell S Holt, moving up to chairman of the board.

Holt remained president until 1974, helping modernize the management style and fighting hard to combat negative public images of Cannon Mills.

In 1935, company chairman James O. McKinsey reorganized the firm's 24 textile mills into one manufacturing operation, called Fieldcrest, with headquarters in New York City.

In 1982, California billionaire David H. Murdock purchased the Cannon Mills Company and its 660 acres (2.7 km2) of surrounding property.

Murdock proposed a redevelopment plan to the company and the community which included the renewal of downtown Kannapolis (now Cannon Village) and the construction of a brand new YMCA.

The next year, the company was bought by Eden, North Carolina-founded Fieldcrest Mills, Incorporated, for somewhat less than $250 million.

Pillowtex subsequently went bankrupt in 2003 and Murdock's Castle & Cooke acquired the 264 acres (1.07 km2) of land at auction for $6.4 million in December 2004.

Such include: The North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) was built on the former site of the Cannon Mills Company.

The NCRC is a private-public venture involving North Carolina's major universities and private investment.

The NCRC is a scientific and economic revitalization project that encompasses the former Cannon Mills plant and the entire downtown area of Kannapolis, North Carolina.