G. F. Lesley, in 1913, according to the Cherokee County History, established a wood-working factory at Dialville that reproduced “2.5 to 3-inch square by 14-inch blocks from dogwood trees. . . . The blocks were converted into spindles for the textile mills in eastern United States and some foreign countries.” Lesley, from Clayton, Georgia, moved the mill to Polk County when he was no longer able to obtain dogwood timber locally.