Abandoned in 1898! Look Inside the Most Complete Woolen Mill!

There used to be thousands of textile mills, both wool and cotton, across the country, but today, only a handful remain, and maybe only one with all its original equipment. Join me as I explore what may be the last, fully-intact, 19th century textile mill. We'll follow the wool through the entire process, from shearing the sheep through a surprising number of mechanical processes, all the way to the finished fabric. Filmed on location at Watkins Woolen Mill State Park. Related Videos: Steam Boiler Evolution:    • Boilers - The REAL Power Behind The Indust...   Visit Watkins Woolen Mill State Park (tour reservations recommended): mostateparks.com/park/watkins-mill-state-park Support the channel Join this channel:    / @industrial_revolution   Patreon:   / industrialrevolution   Affiliate Store: https://www.explorationguides.com/Store/ #industrialrevolution #textilemill #wool #americanhistory 00:00 The Most Complete Woolen Mill in America - Watkins Woolen Mill 00:15 Shearing the Sheep 01:36 Washing the Wool 02:26 History of Watkins Woolen Mill & the Bethany Plantation 03:13 Powering the Factory- the Steam Engine and the Riverboat Boiler 06:10 Initial Cleaning With the Willower 06:34 Final Cleaning With the High-Speed Picker 07:15 Restoring Moisture By Larding the Wool With Pig Fat 08:11 Straightening the Wool With the 3-Stage Carding Machine Process 10:24 Making Thread With Spinning Jacks & Spinning Wheels 14:01 Thread and Yarn Production on the Twister 14:43 Setting Up The Loom With the The Warp Dresser 15:27 Weaving Fabric With the Loom 16:49 Softening the Fabric on the Rotary Fuller 17:59 Making Really Soft Fabric With the Gigging Mill 18:39 Cutting Down the Fabric to the Right Thickness on the Rotary Shearer 19:10 What Happened? Why a 1898 Failure Created a Museum