The "Machine Twist" Panel

This panel depicts the slender thread that pulled the Northampton's silk industry out of the dustbin and onto its feet in the early 1850's: "machine twist," a strong triple strand of uniform width that could withstand the demands of the newly invented sewing machine.

The Northampton silk industry almost didn't make it. It died its first death in 1839. Silk growing had become very popular in the late 1830's, as the rise of manufacture promised new markets for cocoons. The price of mulberry trees shot up from $5 a hundred to $500 in just a few years. Samuel Whitmarsh's Northampton Silk Company collapsed when the bubble burst.

Whitmarsh's factory and orchard were bought by the Northampton Association for Education and Industry, an abolitionist utopian community. Its hardy members valiantly tried support themselves by selling the silk that they raised and manufactured, but they too gave up after a few years.