eTour - continued

In 1925, the workers at the American Thread Company went on strike because their wages had been cut. The company went to northern New England and Canada to hire French Canadians to take the place of striking workers. Many immigrants came to Willimantic to work in the mills. Before the French Canadians came the Irish and later the Italian, Polish, German, Estonian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Puerto Rican immigrants. In June of 1985, the American Thread Company relocated to North Carolina. Today the remaining buildings are being refurbished for office space, light industry and apartments.

Dugan Mill offers a factory floor at the turn of the century with a carding machine, pattern shop, winding department, overseer’s office, weave department, print shop and a variety of mill tools and implements. One of the most fascinating areas of the Museum, Dugan Mill is located in a separate building which used to house the Willimantic Linen Company’s fire brigade. You will learn about the process of producing the cotton thread and the working conditions.
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