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DMT_20110402115442

            Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site, Lawson MO

Stepping on to the grounds of Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site is like stepping into 19th century pastorale. Many of the buildings that Waltus Watkins spent half a century building – including an elegant home and a three-story woolen mill – have been preserved to give visitors a sense of life in the 1870s. The mill is the only 19th century textile mill in the United States with its original machinery still intact. The site's visitor center offers an introduction to the Watkins family and their many business ventures.

Established in 1839 as a small livestock farm in the northeast corner of Clay County, Mo., by 1870 Bethany had expanded into a 3,660-acre agricultural and industrial enterprise. The 1,240-acre home farm was surrounded by a number of smaller sections, including two 500-600 acre tenant farms. The plantation, as owner Waltus L. Watkins styled it, included an elegant home and a three-story mill where wool was spun into yarn, and woven into cloth, blankets and shawls. The plantation also had a brick kiln, a gristmill, sawmills, a blacksmith shop, a dairy, a fruit dryhouse, an icehouse, barns and other farm buildings, as well as a scale house, a woolshed and houses for the mill and farm workers. The Mount Vernon Church and octagonal Franklin Academy school building were built adjacent to the plantation.

Watkins, like most farmers of his day, practiced diversified farming. He raised shorthorn cattle, Missouri mules, horses, swine, sheep and poultry, grew various grain crops, and planted extensive orchards. He also marketed the services of his mills, kiln and blacksmith shop to people in the area. When the woolen industry reached Missouri in the 1850s, Watkins decided to take advantage of his early training in Kentucky textile mills and in 1860 constructed the Watkins Woolen Mill.

Watkins' nine children helped manage the family businesses. The boys assisted their father with the farm and mill operations, and Mary Ann and her four daughters oversaw the dairy, cared for the poultry flocks, and dried fruit for sale. They also maintained a large family garden, raised bees and sold the honey, and butchered up to 100 hogs each year and smoked the meat for sale. In 1868 Watkins went into partnership with his son John, forming the firm of W. L. Watkins & Son. After Watkins' death, three of his sons continued to operate the farm and mill as Jno. H. Watkins & Bros.

The Watkins family lived at Bethany until 1945 when the farm and mill were sold. The mill and house were acquired by the Watkins Mill Association in 1958 and opened to the public. The property became part of the Missouri state park system in 1964. Watkins Woolen Mill was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, and was named a National Mechanical Engineering Historic Landmark in 1980. The mill and house, and the adjoining recreation area are administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Division of State Parks.

Taken in: United States / Missouri / Clay (show map)

Taken on: April 2, 2011

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Sets appears in: • Cemeteries • HDR from single RAW more » • Historic Homes • Missouri • National State and County Parks and Lakes • Nikon_D5000 • No People • Outdoors « less

Camera: Nikon D5000, f/4.8, 1/500 sec, 22mm (=33mm), ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5000
Lens:	18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/4.8
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	22mm (35mm equivalent: 33mm)
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 (Macintosh)
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