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Littlestown
Silk Mill Building
Picture from a Littlestown Post Card
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Picture from Littlestown Bicentennial Book - pg.
150 |
Jesse S. Byers inside Littlestown Silk Company - Picture from Mr. Byers
Picture from Littlestown Bicentennial Book
- pg. 241 |
Pictures and information below from Littlestown
Bicentennial Book - pg. 150
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Silk Mill - One of the first
factories in Littlestown was a two-story brick building erected
in 1903. A 16 year old youth, Tom Staley (Picture to left),
went to work in it as a spinner boy, and advanced to become
manager of the plant. Sydney Suter and Henry Musser, of York,
erected the 50x210 foot building and installed machinery
for both throwing and weaving of silk; Plant operations began
in January 1904. The plant changed hands and names several
times but remained in almost continuous operation. In 1906,
W. R. Thomas and Charles Lotte took over and operated as
the Littlestown Silk Mill. In 1930, it was consolidated with
Wahnetah Silk Company in Catasauqua. Joseph Milson became
manager; "Bob" Stover was foreman upstairs and "Ducky" Rider
downstairs. |
When these mills went out of business
on December 31, 1937, the local one was idle for a few
months. Then the Adams Processing Company rented the building
and remained until March 29, 1943 with Less Broomall and
Tom Staley in charge. Newell Coxon, Harrisburg bought the
mill intending to use it for the manufacture of wood heels
for shoes, many of which were used by the Windsor Company,
but when he saw the machinery, he left it as a Silk Mill,
to become known as the Littlestown Throwing Company.
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During the years of operation, the
raw silk came to the mill, where it was spun or twisted
into thread to be shipped to dyers and weavers ready to
be dyed and made into everything from dresses, scarts,
neckties,and hat bands, to ribbon decorations on the chests
of GI's. During the war years, almost all of the silk was
used by the Army and Navy; it was really rayon or celanese
during the war years, but raw silk from Japan as well as
from China, Brazil and Italy, came again after the war.
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| Pajama-Craft Manufacturing Company began
occupying this building in 1959, having moved several times
since coming to this community in 1953. This Company was
first located on the ground floor of the Patterson Apartment
Building, at the railroad (now
the cheer leading gym), then moved to the factory
building on Cemetery Street, the original Mehring Carriage
Shop. They have been in the Silk Mill building since 1959.
There are 70 employees at Pajama-Craft, with Paul Senft as
Supervisor. Here they turn out 2400 pairs of pajamas a day. (Note
- They have since closed and several other businesses have
been in and out of this building since then. More will be
added as information comes forth.) |
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ABOVE: Paul and Martha Senft. Interior Pajama-Craft |
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