Web Directory

» A Global History of Textile Workers, 1650-2000
   Project of the International Institute of Social History, dedicated to the creation of a global and comparative history of textile workers 1650-2000. Links to national overviews and comparative papers on Word files.
   http://www.iisg.nl/research/textile.php

» A Rich Textile Tapestry
   Short history of the Indian cotton industry, from the early inhabitants of the Indus Valley in 3000 BC to the hand loom cotton industry of the present. From the Hindu Folio web site. Author: Sabita Radhakrishna.
   http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9906/99060060.htm

» An Introduction to the Textile Tradition in Prato
   Timeline and short period descriptions of the development of the textile industry in this north Italian industrial center, from the 13th century till the present. Author: Prof. Claudio Balcucci.
   http://www.giorginisilvano.com.br/inglese/tradizionetesing.html

» Between a Rock and a Hard Place
   Description, historic development and current situation of sweatshops, of which those related to the textile industry are the most notorious. Links to related sites. Authors: Peter Liebhold and Harry Rubenstein.
   http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/145/

» Blackburn, Cotton and the Industrial Revolution
   The history of Blackburn, UK, as it developed from a small market town in the 16th century, to one of the most important textile weaving centers in Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Author: S. Lassey.
   http://www.aboutlancs.com/cotton.htm

» Celia Fiennes on Exeter
   Journal entries of Celia Fiennes, a non-conformist Scottish woman from an aristocratic family written during her journey on horseback across England in 1698, describing the town of Exeter and its thriving woollen textile industry.
   http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/EM/_misc/celiafiennes.php

» Cotton Belt Railroad Symposium
   Homepage of the annual symposium about the Cotton Belt Railroad Company, which was originally created for the transport of cotton in 1877, and is currently owned by the Southern Pacific Company.
   http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/jdavis/railroad/symposium/

» Cotton Famine Road
   Web site of a Lancashire action group dedicated to the preservation of a moorland route which was constructed in 1863 in the framework of The Public Works Act passed by the British Parliament to provide work to textile mill workers, unemployed due to the
   http://www.dingquarry.co.uk/location--geography/cotton-famine-road.asp

» Cotton Mill and Textile History Guide
   Extensive historical information on past and present cotton yarn spinning and fabric weaving mills of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, USA. Photo galleries, and survey and research reports. From the Historic Landmarks Commission site.
   http://www.cmhpf.org/essays/cottonmills.html

» Cotton Times
   A comprehensive overview of the Industrial Revolution focused on the textile industry, profiling workers and reformers of 18th century Britain, the practices of child labor, biographies of inventors, related events in labor history and describing modes of
   http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/

» Cotton Town
   The story of the rapid social and economic changes that occurred as Blackburn and Darwen began to expand in line with the United Kingdom textile industry, providing collection of material, based on the influence of the cotton trade.
   http://www.cottontown.org/

» Cotton. Part I
   First part of a personal narrative about the history of the American cotton industry, focused on Eli Whitney and the invention of the cotton gin which revolutionised the cotton textile industry. Author: Brian Trumbore.
   http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2001/cotton.html

» Cotton. Part II
   Second part of a personal narrative about the history of the American cotton industry, focusing on the development of the industry since 1812 and the events leading up to the Civil War. Author: Brian Trumbore.
   http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2001/cotton2.html

» Cotton: The Perennial Patriot
   Fact sheet about the importance of cotton and the cotton industry in the history of the United States. From the Georgia Cotton Commission's web site.
   http://www.georgiacottoncommission.org/images/E0010401/CottonPerennialPatriotSUNBELTFINAL.pdf

» Dillon's Cotton and the Cotton Mills
   History of Dillon County's cotton and cotton textile industry, including a list of old occupations, a report about child labor, and oral histories.
   http://sciway3.net/proctor/dillon/history/dillon_cotton.html

» European Textiles Routes
   Thematic travel routes organised by the European Textile Network, connecting historical European textile mills, including monuments and recurrent events, textile heritage and production, and education and research.
   http://www.etn-net.org/routes/

» Exposition Cotton Mills
   Web site about the international cotton expositions held in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1881, 1887 and 1895 with the aim of attracting capital and business enterprises, illustrated with original photographs and maps.
   http://www.artery.org/ExCotMills.htm

» Factory Rules from the Handbook to Lowell, 1848
   Excerpts of historical texts relating to the rules of employee behaviour in the Hamilton Manufacturing Company and its boarding house in Lowell, Massachusetts, a report of 1845 state investigation into the labor conditions in the textile mill, and a 1846
   http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/lowell.html

» From Weaver to Web
   Project undertaken by the UK Calderdale Council aimed at raising the historic profile of the Calderdale area, one of its key elements being the development of a searchable visual archive featuring material relating to the textile industry that grew, rose
   http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/wtw/

» Ghost in the Old Irish Linen Mill
   Ireland's Eye web site with web cam and recordings of Helena Blunden who fell and died in a Belfast linen mill in 1912, and is wandering about as a ghost ever since. Includes a history of the Irish linen industry.
   http://www.irelandseye.com/ghost/

» Greenville Textile Heritage Society
   USA. Organization of professionals and enthusiasts, dedicated to the preservation of the history of the textile industry in Greenville, South Carolina, and the education of the general public as to the importance of textiles in the growth and development
   http://scmillhills.com/

» History of Hand Loom Weaving in Ribchester
   The history of the hand loom weaving industry in the English village of Ribchester, Lancashire, from the early 18th Century until the rise of the factory system caused its decline at the closure of the century. From the Ribchester Local History Society's
   http://www.ribchesterhistory.org/hand_loom_weaving.html

» History of Knitting
   The history of knitting, from the early nÃ¥lebinding technique involving the creation of fabric from thread by making multiple knots or loops, to the current high-speed circular and flat bed knitting technologies. Author: Julie Theaker.
   http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEAThistory101.html

» History of Silk Production in Mansfield
   The history of silk production in Mansfield, Connecticut, which was initiated as a home industry by Nathaniel Aspinwall in 1760 and developed into a waterpowered mechanised industry from 1810, until a blight devastated mulberry orchards throughout the cou
   http://www.mansfieldct-history.org/silk_production.shtml

» History of Textile Business in North Carolina
   History of North Carolina's web site about the development of the cotton textile industry of the state, from 1810 to the present day with links to historical mills and laureates.
   http://historync.org/textiles.htm

» History of Textile Companies
   Timeline of inventions in the textile industry, textile related US legislature, and textile industry data, from 1733 until 1938, including an extensive list of links to historical publications. From Kipnotes.com.
   http://www.kipnotes.com/Textiles.htm

» History of the Whitin Family and Company
   The history of the Whitin family and the Whitin Machine Works, cotton textile manufacturers and textile machinery engineers, and the impact they had on the life and times of Blackstone River Valley communities in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
   http://www.blackstonerivervalley.com/navigator/towns/northbridgearticle.php

» Irish Linen - The Fabric of Ireland
   The Living Linen Project presents a detailed history, and narratives about the production processes and products of the Irish linen industry from the 17th century to the present. Includes a list of historic linen mills, and links to related sites.
   http://www.irishlinenmills.com/

» Knitting Together
   Joint Internet project of the Leicester City Museum Service and its partners, dedicated to the history of the East-Midlands knitting industry. Timeline. Oral and photographic history. Virtual museum. Resources and links.
   http://www.knittingtogether.org.uk/

» Lancashire Textile Project
   Homepage about the history of the steam driven weaving industry in the North West of England. Photographs and transcribed tape recordings of interviews with individuals who worked in the industry.
   http://www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/ltp/default.htm

» Lowell National Historical Park
   The history of Lowell's planned textile mill city, founded during the second quarter of the 1800's, which in scale, technological innovation, and development of an urban working class, marked the beginning of the industrial transformation of America.
   http://www.nps.gov/lowe/index.htm

» Macclesfield Museum Trust
   UK. Group of museums, consisting of a working Victorian silk mill and exhibitions of silk costumes and textiles which together convey the history of the Macclesfield silk industry, and educate the public in the properties, historical manufacturing technol
   http://www.macclesfield.silk.museum/

» Medieval Cloth Trade in Flanders & Artois
   Short overview of the trade in woollen cloth between England, and Northern France and Flanders in Medieval times until the end of the Golden Age in the 18th century. From The Other Side web site.
   http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/medieval-wool.htm

» Newry Historical Society
   Web site of the historical society, formed in order to preserve the Newry cotton mill founded in 1893, and to save and revitalise Newry Village.
   http://www.oconeeheritagecenter.org/Newry/

» No Idle Hands, The Social History of American Knitting
   Review of a textbook about the history of home and industrial machine knitting in the United States from Independence until the present time. Author: Anne L. Macdonald.
   http://www.csmonitor.com/1988/1202/bknit.html

» Norwich Textiles Project
   UK. Collaboration of Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service and Norwich School of Art and Design, aimed at promoting study and research of the history, present and future of the Norwich textile industry, encouraging new initiatives from local business, a
   http://www.norwichtextiles.org.uk/

» Our Textile History
   Web site of the Gaston Gazette, containing the oral history and videos telling the stories of the people who worked in the Gaston County cotton textile industry.
   http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/html-24391-textile-http.html

» Photographs of Milltowns in England, Great Britain and India.
   On-line exhibition of large format photographs of textile mills in New England, USA, Britain and India, from Randolph Langenbach's collection.
   http://www.conservationtech.com/x-MILLTOWNS/RL-Photographs-4x5/PhotoFOLIO-home.htm

» River Powers Textile Industry
   Short history of the development of the cotton textile industry in Lowell, Massachusetts, from 1826 to its peak as a major textile center in 1924. From the Cities of the United States web site.
   http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Northeast/Lowell-History.html

» River Wey & Navigations
   Extensive information about the leather and wool processing, yarn spinning, weaving and textile manufacturing industry in the Wey Valley in the United Kingdom since the 13th Century.
   http://www.weyriver.co.uk/theriver/industry_4%20fulling.htm

» Silk Mills Of Congleton
   The history of the silk weaving industry of Congleton, United Kingdom, which developed from the founding of the water powered Dane Bridge Mill and mill village in 1800 by Huguenots escaping religious persecution in France. Author: Karen Briddock.
   http://www.as-it-was.co.uk/SupaNames/Narratives/Congleton/Millsx/Mancmillsn.htm

» South Carolina Textile History Portal
   Portal to the history of the South Carolina textile industry, providing links to on-line archives, libraries, museum and institutions arranged alphabetically by location.
   http://www.clemson.edu/library/special_collections/sc_textile_history_portal.html

» Southern Cotton Mills
   Collection of links to the history of a large number of cotton textile mills and mill villages in Southern USA.
   http://www.owdna.org/History/history15.htm

» Strike at Loray Mill
   The history of a major strike at the Loray Mill in 1929, sparked by the refusal of the mill owners to recognise the right of textile workers to join the newly formed National Textile Workers Union.
   http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/jun2004/index.html

» Stroudwater Textile Trust
   UK. Local trust involved in the preservation of historic textile mills in the Gloucestershire area through exhibitions, publications and events.
   http://www.stroudwatertextiles.org.uk/

» Textile Heritage Initiative
   Internet project dedicated to the preservation of the history and heritage of Southern US cotton mill people through recording the stories, and saving the places and the historical records of the region’s textile industry, and educational activities. Li
   http://www.textileheritage.org/

» Textile History
   Concise overview of the development of textiles as an industry, from Neolithic times to the Industrial Revolution. From the Textile Guide web site.
   http://www.thetextileguide.com/tghist.htm

» Textile Industry History
   The history and development of the textile industry in the United States with detailed descriptions of historic mills, profiles of captains of industry, and manufacturing processes of the past.
   http://www.textilehistory.org/

» Textile Production in Europe, 1600–1800
   Introduction to silk weaving, lace making, tapestry, embroidery and printing as the principal European textile industries between 1600 and 1800. Compiled by Melinda Watt. From the web site of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
   http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/txt_l/hd_txt_l.htm

» Textile industries in Nord/Pas-de-Calais
   Short overview of the history of the textile industry in Northern France, from the Industrial Revolution to the massive closing of textile mills in the 1950's. From The Other Side web site.
   http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/textiles.htm

» The Chronology of Textiles and Fiber Arts in New Mexico
   Timeline of the history and development of weaving techniques and the textile industry in New Mexico, from 700 BC until the present. From The Collector's Guide web site.
   http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa054.shtml

» The Cotswold Woollen Industry
   Short article about the history of wool production, processing and cloth weaving, from 1360 until the Industrial Revolution. From the Cotswold HyperGuide History and Lore Page.
   http://www.digital-brilliance.com/hyperg/history/sheep.htm

» The Cotton Trade & the Mill Workers
   Web site about life in the Lancashire cotton textile industry during the 19th century, covering the number of adult workers, and an account of child labor in the cotton mills.
   http://www.ourwardfamily.com/cotton_trade.htm

» The History of Burano Lace
   Short history of the origin and development of the lace trade and industry in the Venetian Republic during the 16th century.
   http://www.dallalidia.com/contenuti/scheda.php?id=5

» The History of Flax in Salem, Oregon
   The history of flax cultivation and fiber processing in the state of Oregon, and the linen textile industry in Salem, from 1902 until the last linen mill closed in the late 1950's.
   http://www.salemhistory.net/commerce/flax.htm

» The Life of a Weaver in the Early 19th Century
   Extract from an article in the Stroud Journal, published in 1868, telling the story of textile workers and working conditions around the time of the Stroudwater Riots of 1825. Includes the poem 'A Weaving Factory' by Thomas Delaney.
   http://www.jillsfamilyancestry.co.uk/Shelton_Family/History_of_Wea.html

» The Linen Story
   Brief history of the linen textile industry of the Colin Glen area in Ireland, including European and English influences on Irish linen. From the Colin Glen Trust web site.
   http://www.colinglentrust.org/?tabid=1214&tabindex=13

» The Linen Trail
   Research project on the history of linen in Ireland and Northern Ireland, involving children and teachers collaborating with professional historians and artists using creative technologies the investigate the local linen industry. Background information o
   http://linenireland.org/index.php

» The New Zealand Flax Milling Industry
   History of the flax cultivation and fiber processing industry in New Zealand, from the 1860's until the last flax mill ceased operation in 1985. From A history of Technological Innovation in New Zealand. Author: Ian Matheson.
   http://www.techhistory.co.nz/OntheLand/Flax_milling.htm

» The Silk Trade of Coventry
   The history of the decline of domestic silk manufacturing and trade in the city of Coventry between 1851 and 1861 due to the rise of the factory system and changing market conditions. Chapter from an unpublished document from the Coventry City Record Offi
   http://www.hillfields.org.uk/History/Mid_Victorian_Coventry.PDF

» The Textile Heritage Museum
   Ongoing restoration project as well as a museum highlighting the textile history of Alamance County and the Piedmont, USA, featuring the history and machinery of the textile industry from the cottage industry to the present, the family labor system, life
   http://www.textileheritagemuseum.org/

» The Textile Industry
   A collection of articles on inventions, inventors and entrepreneurs in the British textile industry of the 18th and 19th centuries. Also, descriptions of the conditions in textile mills, factory workers and child labor. From Spartacus Schoolnet.
   http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Textiles.htm

» The Textile Industry in Georgia
   Detailed overview of the rise of the textile industry in Georgia, USA, from the earliest attempts at silk production in 1734 to its current position in the tufted carpets industry. From the New Georgia Encyclopedia web site.
   http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2606

» The Weaving Guild of Vyšší Brod
   The history of the weavers guild of the Czech town of Vyšší Brod, founded by Vilém of Rožmberk in 1568 and organized linen weavers under the auspices of the local abbot.
   http://www.ckrumlov.info/docs/en/region_histor_tkcech.xml

» The Witney Blanket Story
   History of blanket manufacturing in the UK town of Witney, Oxfordshire, from the 17th Century until the closure of the last remaining blanket factory in 2002. Includes oral histories, a list of historic mills, searchable collection catalogs, a glossary of
   http://www.witneyblanketstory.org.uk/

» The Wool Trade of Guildford
   The history of the woollen cloth manufacture and trade in Guilford, Surrey, Great Britain, which developed during Mediaeval and Tudor times as a cottage industry and disappeared at the beginning of the 18th century with the emergence of the mechanised cot
   http://www.guildford.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3495

» The Woollen Cloth Industry in the Dursley Area
   Collection of images and texts compiled by the Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology (GSIA) for the use of students at Rednock School carrying out projects connected with the local woollen industry. Includes a directory of mills.
   http://www.coaley.net/durmills/

» The Woollen Industry
   Extract of a book written in 1935 for the London Carmarthenshire Society, providing a brief history of the woollen industry in Carmarthenshire, Wales, Great Britain, which' first records date back to the Norman occupation and virtually disappeared at the
   http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CMN/Lloyd8.html

» The Woollen Industry In Huddersfield
   The history of the wool processing and woollen textile industry in Huddersfield, Great Britain, from the 13th century until the Act of Parliament from 1834 which outlawed employment of children under 9 years of age.
   http://www.huddersfield1.co.uk/huddersfield/huddswool.htm

» The Woollen Industry in Medieval Clare
   The history of the woollen cloth and quilt making industry in Clare, Sufflok County, Great Britain, which probably dates back to the 11th century and saw its peak in the 16th century. From 'A Short History of Clare, Suffolk' by Gladys A. Thornton.
   http://www.clare-uk.com/about/short_history/page8.html

» The Woollen Industry of Exeter
   A history of the woollen industry of Exeter, Great Britain, probably dating back to the 14th century, reaching its peak after the Civil War and declined near the end of the 18th century.
   http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/EM/exeter_wool.html

» The Woollen Industry of Modbury
   The history of the woollen industry of Modbury, Devon, Great Britain, which' recorded history dates back to around the 10th century and disappeared at the beginning of the 19th century. From the Modbury Historical Society's web site.
   http://www.modbury-heritage.co.uk/panels/woollen_industry.htm

» The Woollen Industry of Moreton
   History of the woollen industry and its organization in Moreton, Devon, Great Britain, which' existence was first recorded in 1297.
   http://www.moretonhampstead.org.uk/texts/glimpses/occupations/wool.ghtml

» Through a Cotton Mill; 1887
   Article printed in a Fall River, Massachusetts newspaper 23 November 1887, explaining the occupations that were unique to working in the cotton textile mills of the time. Includes a link to a collection of cotton mill postcards.
   http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ussnei/cottonmill1887.htm

» Uses of Liberty Rhetoric Among Lowell Mill Girls
   Information resource containing links to poems and songs written by the women that worked in the Lowell cotton mills in the 19th Century, and used to express their resistance to the hard labor they viewed as undignified.
   http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/americanstudies/lavender/lowell.html

» Verdant Works
   The history of the jute industry in Dundee, Scotland, from 1833 when the first jute textile mill was built by merchant and flax spinner David Lindsay, until the industry's decline in the 1960's.
   http://www.rrsdiscovery.com/index.php?pageID=63

» Weaving and the Textile Industry
   Article originally published in The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland in 1865, describing the cotton, flax, linen and wool industry in Scotland. Includes a history of some of the most important mills, and child labor figures.
   http://www.originsnetwork.com/help/resarticle-so-weaving.aspx

» Weaving in Yorkshire
   Illustrated history of the cloth weaving industry in the Yorkshire area of the United Kingdom in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
   http://maggieblanck.com/Land/WE.html