In Willimantic, Connecticut, the former company store of the Willimantic Linen Company preserves the town’s textile history and the industrial world that shaped it. Centered on the Willimantic mill, later operated by the American Thread Company until its closing in 1985, it explores mill life around the turn of the century and the community built around textile production. Exhibits include replica sewing machines based on those used in the factory in the late 19th century, a re-creation of the manager’s office, and a replica of boarding-house life in the 1880s. This history is also linked to company vice-president Austin Cornelius Dunham.