wool fabric factory

A wool fabric mill uses precision to produce the highest quality fabrics. Colourful wool is spun into a vast array of yas on six specialised frames. Each frame puts just the right number of twists per inch, resulting in a fine but strong thread. Once spun, the ya is wound onto a cone to check for thickness continuity and faults are removed before the ends are thermally joined to make a smooth fabric. There wool fabric mill  are dozens of steps involved in this process.

Thomas Kay established a woolen mill in Salem in 1889 and it started manufacturing blankets in the town in the following year. Thomas Kay, Squire Farrar, and C.P. Bishop began the business and eventually employed over fifty people. It eaed high marks for its woolen textiles, and the mill was rebuilt after a fire in 1895. It was a prize-winning mill, and Kay eventually died and his company closed its doors.

The mill was one of the first mills west of the Mississippi, manufacturing worsted and merino wool. Wool was purchased from easte Oregon and the Willamette Valley. In 1900, the mill installed a fire-suppression system, and the machinery was powered by direct drive water. The millrace and an artificial millrace kept the water running and a Leffel 45" Samson turbine operated the belts and pulleys.