A note about some of the mills

CROWN COTTON MILL, GREENSBORO
(gathered from browsing the results of a newspapers.com search in NC for "Crown Cotton Mill")

Greensboro's Crown Cotton Mill opened about 1890, located in downtown Greensboro along E Washington St. The mill was sold in 1895, and re-opened that year and in 1897 and after a period of inactivity. In 1897, the mill was purchased by Bamford Bros., of New Jersey. The mill closed the following year, and the building was used as an apple evaporating and drying outfit run by the de Wolf & Christiansen Co. of New York. It was listed in a register of mills active in Guilford county in 1899, but was abandoned again by 1900. In 1902 there were plans for the Southern Bobbin Works to take over the building, but after a storm blew off part of the roof, the deal seems to have fallen through. in 1919, a portion the land was sold by its long-time proprietor, a Dr. C. D. Benbow; that's the last time its name shows up in NC newspapers.

If that piece of trivia is to be believed, then the poems authorship can be confidently dated to between 1890 and circa 1899, when the mill was active in milling activities. It's worth noting, however, that Dalton, GA was home to a much more long-lived and successful Crown Mill, and that the song could have originated from there. It also should not be confused with Charlotte's Gold(en) Crown Hosiery Mill, which operated from 1894-1901, when the owners sold the machinery.

CHRONICLE MILL, BELMONT

Work began on Chronicle Mill in 1901, and it was opened in 1902. The mill electrified in 1912, and managed to operate until 2010, when it closed. It has now been converted into some swanky apartments.

Chronicle was not the first mill in Belmont; the earliest preceding mill I found was the Stowesville Cotton Mill (1853). From a biography about the city of Belmont:

"Although the Industrial Revolution had been taking place in the United States for decades, Belmont didn't experience it's effects until 1853 when the Stowesville Cotton Mill was opened. This mill was one of the first three Cotton Mills in Gaston County. After the mill was erected, Belmont continued to have a very small population. It was not until textile manufacturing arrived that Belmont really experienced an economic boom. Textile manufacturing became an important industry for much of the south, including the Charlotte metropolitan area. Gastonia, located just west of Belmont, was the fourth largest textile center in the state. As Gastonia and Charlotte grew, Belmont continued to maintain much of its agricultural character and did not experience the true effects of the industrial revolution for a few more decades....

In 1901, the Chronicle Mill became the first textile facility within Belmont. Access to the railroad, proximity to Gastonia and Charlotte, and being surrounded by waterways, provided an ideal location for the emerging textile industry. By the 1930’s, over twenty textile mills called Belmont home. This caused the population to soar from 145 at the turn of the century to over 4,000. Many of these mills were planned as distinct “mill villages” which often included churches, stores and residences to serve and house mill workers. These mill villages often provided a sense of community for the workers and their families. The legacy of these mill villages lives on today. When traveling through Belmont, you will see neighborhoods and architecture that act as a reminder of the impact the mills had on the area." (link)

If the song indeed originated in Belmont, that's a little less useful for dating the song, given the length of mill workmanship in the area. I believe Greensboro to be the likely origin place, just due to the obscurity of its mill: who would make a song and go to the effort of name-dropping one of the least successful mills in the state? It could just be a chance coincidence, and the poem originated in another area under a different mill's name and a Greensboro local changed the name, but that's difficult to ascertain for certain.