Butternut Woolen and Cotton Mill

For a time before 1880 this mill, which was located at the bend in East River Rd just before you get to Weaver's Farm Market, employed a large number of men, women, and children spinning wool and cotton into thread. The raw materials were brought by ox cart at times from the Hudson River at Catskill or from the Erie Canal near Ilion.

Larger versions of the photo can be accessed via the links below.

Gary Norman
‎Morris, NY - Historically speaking
April 1, 2016 ·

Here's the latest image discovered on a Byron Churchill glass negative . . . a gift to the Morris Historical Society by the Robert Elliott family. It's a rare photo of the old Butternuts Woolen and Cotton factory after it was abandoned. The Weavers are growing organic produce on this site now down on East Side Road.

Bob Thomas What a neat shot. Any idea on what year or even decade?

Early investors in the Butternuts Woolen and Cotton Factory sent in to The Morris Chronicle, Jan 25, 1893 by John Cope.
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Frank Rock Smokehaven Shepherds
Frank Rock Smokehaven Shepherds Wow-Neat photo!
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Frank Rock Smokehaven Shepherds
Frank Rock Smokehaven Shepherds I am assuming that the building was torn down?
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Gary Norman
Gary Norman Photo was taken in the 1890s . . . the cupola had been removed/moved by then, and the bell was in the Factory School where Barton now keeps his bees. That bell now belongs to the Morris Historical Society, thanks to the Barton family, and can be seen on display in the rightmost window of the Butternut Valley Arts & Crafts Center. The building was torn down in the 20th century, the stones being reused elsewhere (Rene, you know about this, I think).
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Frank Rock Smokehaven Shepherds
Frank Rock Smokehaven Shepherds Thanks Gary-Wonder where they used the stones--LOL
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Rennie M Elliott
Rennie M Elliott When Burt Phillips was highway supt he probably made use of some of the stone, he built several bridges, and was responsible for getting the pile driver made and the pilings had plank and stone placed behind them, doing the Butternut Creek banks along the village boundary and including the fiercely preserved stone arch at the Manor Farms (since replaced). He also had a steam traction engine used to run a sawmill and threshing equipment for farmers, he even bid highway projects, and was construction supt. for the Linn factory in 1917. P&N replaced the original grandstand at the fairgrounds in 1898, which was replaced by the present one on 1923. Philips also built the fountain and shed on the second hill of Hillington Cemetery in 1921 and 1922 respectively. Nichols would become a sales agent for Linn.
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Leslie Peterson Mirabito
Leslie Peterson Mirabito My great grandmother, Marion Lull Aplin, wrote in her diary in 1873 (she was 15) about working in the "factory" warping. I wonder if this is the factory.
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Gary Norman
Gary Norman We'd love to see a copy of your great grandmother's diary! It could have been this factory or the one down by the Fairgrounds. Perhaps some detail in the diary would help us figure it out.
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Leslie Peterson Mirabito
Leslie Peterson Mirabito I transcribed the diary about 15 years ago. I would like the Morris historian (if there is one) to have a copy.
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Gary Norman
Gary Norman The Morris Historical Society would be the place for a copy of the diary. That is where these images I have been posting lately are coming from. I am currently the president of the MHS.
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Leslie Peterson Mirabito
Leslie Peterson Mirabito I'll get back to you Gary. I'll need to print out a copy for you.
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Leslie Peterson Mirabito
Leslie Peterson Mirabito Send me an address Gary and I'll mail a copy of the diary.
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Gary Norman
Gary Norman Thanks, Leslie. Morris Historical Society, PO Box 332, Morris, NY 13808.
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Bob Thomas
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Rennie M Elliott
Rennie M Elliott The mill was bought for salvage along with the woodlots by Phillips & Nichols, the stone was recycled as has always been common practice, for erosion control, other building foundations, probably a few town bridges, and when the Linn Corp. tore down the rest of it in the mid 1920s it was put into the bank of the Morris Pond for reinforcement. As for where Marion Lull may have worked, Oliver & Nathan Lull were involved in a large woolen mill on the Peet farm which when dismantled was used to build the large dairy barn which burned in recent years. H.J. Lull had a small stone construction woolen mill on on the site of the old iron forge, west side of the Butternut Creek from Bailey's Mills on the Butternut.
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Leslie Peterson Mirabito
Leslie Peterson Mirabito H J Lull was Marion Lull's father. Thanks for the information.
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Bob Thomas
Bob Thomas People who were interested in this photo might like to see this one that shows the whole crew of mill workers standing outside of the mill. https://photos.app.goo.gl/X5GzXA4ys5LPSLGV8
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New photo by Bob Thomas
PHOTOS.GOOGLE.COM
New photo by Bob Thomas
New photo by Bob Thomas
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Harold Card
Harold Card Wow never knew of this
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Rennie M Elliott
Rennie M Elliott It would be interesting to know when/how the cupola ended up being moved down from the roof to the top of the wooden addition (freight elevator or stairwell?). There were quite a number of these factories, built of stone on a similar floor plan, includ…See More
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Harold Card
Harold Card Rennie M Elliott what was on Lake st
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Bob Thomas
Bob Thomas Harold Card I think Rennie M Elliott means at the end of Lake Street -- on the banks of the Hargrave Lake -- or mill pond, not up on Lake St where all the houses are. Some of the houses were built for mill hands.
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Harold Card
Harold Card Bob Thomas ahh gotcha
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Rennie M Elliott
Rennie M Elliott A factory like that above, it was the reason Paschal Franchot helped the village secure their first fire engine in 1833, but it didn't help much when it burnt in 1850. The lower pond was built for Franchot's red gristmill by the fairgrounds gate by 1805 (replaced with the Phillips & Nichols cheese factory, c. 1894 - 1977), but 1832 or so they built the big Hargrave Factory Co. which the streets and "Hargrave Lake" took their name from, the same investors built the "Arkwright Mill" in Hoboken, this side of Pittsfield. (Neither man, Hargrave or Arkwright, they named the mills for, who invented the textile machinery, were connected with the firms). To supply water they raised the pond higher, dug the millrace and built the Mud Pond, and dam at Elm Grove on the Butternut Creek. An Englishman named George Chadwicks tried building the first cotton mill in this state above DeMinco Rd in Burlington (Albion Mills) but it lacked the water power and was too far from the canal to haul raw cotton and finished cloth back north to, (which became a reason the mills in Morris failed), so he moved up to Utica and that is why there is a community with his name there. There were at least two mills that burnt on the site of the old chair factory in Elm Grove. The mills which replaced the Hargrave factory all had the same fate except for the Phillips & Nichols saw and gristmills that Linn tore down in 1917. Again, no known photos exist of what stood there before.
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Bob Thomas
Bob Thomas Rennie M Elliott Here's the same map in higher resolution and color --
https://ourtownnews.info/morris-ny/sites/default/files/1903-Village-of--...

Bob Thomas Detail from Avery's bird's eye view of Morris - shows fairground, track, mills, Godley property beyond the fairground. Mentioned by Rennie M Elliott in thread above.
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Bob Thomas
Bob Thomas Only fair to offer the whole image -- in two parts == left side then right.
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Image may contain: sky and outdoor
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Bob Thomas
Bob Thomas Now the right. Can't say why the sky is so clear on the right.

Rennie M Elliott That's just how our weather is! I think Avery entered this in exhibit at the fair in 1884? I believe it still shows the creek backed up by the dam near East Side Road for the lower factory ground. Richard Churchill bought and built on his lot (former Dave Olds, whose house next to us) in 1882/1883, and his brother William built ours (they helped each other of course) the following year. Walter Wing bought what was Mckown's in 1884, and presumably built soon after, these three houses are not shown in the illustration, just Franchot's ancient apple orchard, the last of which probably came down in the 1960s.