Woolen Mills dam

In the 1830's, the principal types of cloth produced in American mills were broadcloths, cassimeres, flannels, satinets, and blankets. Of much lower quality, such fabrics as jeans, linseys, and kerseys also comprised much of the total production, especially among the younger mills. While style changes following the War altered this situation, many mills in economically retarded areas, especially in the South and West, made the low quality goods named above as late as the 1870's. Not until the period between 1868 and 1875 did the Charlottesville Woolen Mills make the transition from the coarse goods which characterized mills dependent on a very local market to the finer grades of the type manufactured by older, expanding mills.--Harry Poindexter