Weathervane Newsletter Spring 2003

From Mulberry to Manufacture: Northampton Builds an Industry, 1830-1930

Silk was first produced here in the homes of local families. In the 1840's silk was manufactured at the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, a utopian abolitionist community. Silk thread later became the main product of the nationally known Corticelli silk company that grew out of the previous silk enterprises.

In this exhibit, items from all over the country joins objects from Historic Northampton's collections. On loan from the Smithsonian Institution is a patent model made here in Northampton for a machine used in early silk production. Items from local collections are also on display. Several items from the Florence History Project's extensive collection of the advertising history of the Corticelli Silk Company are presented. Also on display is raw silk produced in Belchertown in the 1830s on loan from the Old Stone House Museum, Belchertown. Smith College Physical Plant has loaned insurance maps and blueprints of the original the McCallum Hosiery factory. From the State Historical Society of Wisconsin there are checks written by I. M. Singer to purchase silk thread strong enough for his new sewing machine.

This exhibit chronicles the changing technology and business practices used throughout the history of the industry as well as the setbacks and breakthroughs, the hopes and dreams of those who ran the factories as well as those who worked in them.

This exhibit, sponsored by Smith College's Northampton Silk Project, is part of a number of coordinated events in March. Silk Unraveled, a symposium at Smith College ran March 26th through 28. Silk in New England Society, 1730-1930 opened at the Smith College Museum of Art March 28th and will run through June 15th.

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