Hanks Silk Mill

Silk comes from the silkworm, a caterpillar whose cocoon contains a single strand of silk up to 1,000 yards long. At this mill, workers spent tedious hours tending silkworms and spinning thread from their cocoons. The Hanks family ran the mill, which is believed to be the first water powered silk mill in the United States, and the thread made there was sold across the country. The family later moved to a larger mill, where they continued to make thread until the 1920s. Built in 1812 near Mansfield, Connecticut.

Dearborn, Michigan · United States