Dense fog on LHHT

Lonaconing Silk Mill

A few months back I visited the Lonaconing Silk Mill or otherwise known as the Klotz Throwing company. The Mill opened in 1905 and over the years employed close to 300 people, mainly women. The youngest known worker being 7 years old. Silk was imported from overseas and used in clothing, usually lingerie and stockings. During WW II they mainly used Rayon, and produced items for the war. The Mill closed in 1957 with much of the equipment intact and working. The workers left a lot of personal belongings behind and even today crates full of silk threads remain. It is the last intact remaining mill in the US today. It’s caretaker Herb Crawford has been trying to keep up with repairs as needed as well as keeping the place in the same condition it was in upon it’s closure. This is truly a place of American history and needs to be preserved.

First thing I did was walk all three floors including the basement. I imagined it as a bustling place with people running around and the looms going full force. I moved from floor to floor which were mostly taken up by the looms and throws. The basement was dark and creepy but was filled with all kinds of super cool things including a built-in scale and some of the largest lightbulbs I’ve every seen. I wasn’t steely enough to make my through the entire basement. I headed back upstairs. Rows and rows of looms, left over silk and personal belongings and even calendars and items from the year it closed. The place is beautiful and eerie especially with the diffused light coming through the coated windows and the silence with only dripping water to keep you company. This place was amazing. I love places like this, a peak into the industrial past of America. Much thanks to Herb who keeps this place open to the curious, creatives, and photographers like me. It was a honor to be able to photograph here. As a souvenir I was given a left over spool dated back to 1924. Very amazing and gracious of Herb.

SLB Photography
error: Content is protected, please contact StacyB@slb-photography.net for usage.