In the 1920s Rock Mill joined the Atlas Mills Ltd. group, but the independent mills were struggling.

Financially, the independent mills were struggling.

The independent mills were struggling.

Montana's small, independent, and family-owned mills provide the economic backbone of Montana's rural timber-dependent communities.

Slater's business model of independent mills and mill villages (the "Rhode Island System") began to be replaced by the 1820s by a more efficient system (the "Waltham System") based upon Francis Cabot Lowell's replications of British power looms.

The independent mills were struggling, but Royd mill expanded again in 1924.