Stuart Warren Cramer (March 31, 1868 – July 2, 1940) was an American engineer, inventor, and contractor, who gained prominence after designing and building near 150

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

s in the southern United States. He was the founder of Cramerton and became involved in the nascent

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

industry, as well as being a founding partner in

Duke Power Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Overview Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...

Biography

He was born in

Thomasville, North Carolina Thomasville is a city in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 27,183 at the 2020 census. The city was once notable for its furniture industry, as were its neighbors High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad commu ...

to Mary Jane Thomas Cramer and John Thomas, a furniture manufacturer. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1888 after studying naval engineering. Cramer chose to resign from the Navy to study in the School of Mines at Columbia University in 1888–1889. He found employment with the U.S. Mint in Charlotte, where he worked for four years. After that he worked for Daniel A. Tompkins, an engineer and industrialist, for two years, and then went into business for himself designing and equipping cotton mills in the South. In a May 1906 speech in Asheville, North Carolina, before the American Cotton Manufacturers Association, Cramer coined the term

. Cramer's connection to air conditioning originated from his work in the textile industry. Over the course of his career he acquired more than 60 patents for the humidity control and ventilating equipment he developed for cotton mills across the South. Cramer was a founding member of the American Cotton Manufacturers Association and the National Council of American Cotton Textile Manufacturers. He died in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

on 4 July 1940 an was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. His great-grandson is actor

Grant Cramer Grant Cramer (born November 10, 1961) is an American actor and producer who has starred in films and on television. He is the son of actress Terry Moore and Stuart Warren Cramer III, and a great-grandson of engineer and inventor Stuart W. Cram ...

Recognition

Stuart W. Cramer High School Stuart W. Cramer High School is a public high school in the Gaston County Schools district located in Cramerton, North Carolina (though its mailing address says Belmont). Its attendance range covers the central portion of eastern Gaston County an ...

in Cramerton, North Carolina which includes Cramerton in its attendance district, was named for him. Several of his textile works are listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Works include: * Highland Park Manufacturing Company Mill No. 3, 2901 N. Davidson St.,

(Cramer, Stuart Warren), NRHP-listed * Mayworth School, 236 Eighth Ave., Cramerton, North Carolina (Cramer, Stuart), NRHP-listed *One or more works in North Charlotte Historic District, roughly bounded by the Southern Railroad, Herrin St., Spencer St., and Charles Ave.,

(Cramer, Stuart), NRHP-listed

References

External links

''Textile History''
Cramer, Stuart W. (1868-1940)
''The North Carolina State University Libraries'' 1868 births 1940 deaths American engineers Architects from North Carolina People from Gaston County, North Carolina {{US-architect-stub

Biography

Recognition

References

Further reading

External links