JSU News Wire

Mr. Homer Barnwell of Jacksonville, who's in his 80s, remembers when people who lived in the mill village and worked at the adjacent Profile Mill in the early 1900s used company-issued tokens as part of their earnings to buy food and supplies at the company store. Mr. Barnwell said these tokens were called "clinkers." Several from his collection are pictured here along with his photo of the Profile Store and the mill during its heyday. More vintage photos from Jacksonville and JSU are available more extensively on my photo site.

Mr. Barnwell examines "clinkers" from Profile Mill.

The former company store. The building is still standing. Photo from Mr. Barnwell's collection.

Possibly from the late 1940s or the 1950s. Photo from the collection of Mr. Homer Barnwell.

Photo Feature By Homer Barnwell & Al Harris

The Company Store