Western Knitting Mills collection

Collection — Box: Oakland County History - Western Knitting Mills

Identifier: OU-SC-WKM

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection includes different survey maps of the buildings and area around the Western Knitting Mills between 1896 and the 1950s, as well as photographs from circa 1950 of the exterior and interior of the building, probably after the knitting mill closed down and other businesses occupied it.

Dates

1896 - 1930
1950

Access and Use note

The Western Knitting Mills collection is open for research.

Copyright

Copyright has not been transferred to Oakland University. Researchers are responsible for seeking copyright permissions before publishing items from the collection.

History

In 1844, Hosea B. Richardson built a wool carding and cloth-dressing mill at Fourth and Water Streets in Rochester, Michigan. Afer it burned in 1867 the mill was rebuilt with three stories and made woolen socks and mittens until it burned down again in 1882. In 1891 the stockholders then bought out Richardson's son, reorganized the company, and changed its name from Western Knitting Works to Western Knitting Mills. In 1896, construction on a new building started. The plant's main new building was constructed in a U-shape, with two stories, a basement, and room for 400 knitting and tufting machines. The Village of Rochester requested that a three-story fire watchtower be added. At some point the U-shaped building was filled in to form a square, and other buildings were added. The mills made knitted socks, gloves, mittens, and later on wool cloth. During World War I they were commissioned by the government to make khaki gloves for U.S. soldiers.