Waterside Woolen Mill
The Waterside Woolen Mill was one of the oldest operating woolen mills in the country. The mill was built on land granted to Abraham Oberholtzer by heirs of William Penn in 1785. In 1806 John Snider purchased the land and erected a mill on the banks of Yellow Creek. The mill went through a number of owners, ceasing operations for good in the 1990s. Antique machinery used iin the mill consists of a picker, a "Moulton Card" and wrap winding machine manufactured by the James Smith Woolen Machine Company, a Philadelphia wool equipment manufacturer from the 1800s. Another set of cards date from 1902 and were made by Davis and Furber who also manufactured the spinning mule in 1924 - one of the last to be operating in the country. The looms, one of which ia a "W" model patented in the 1870s are all Crompton and Knowles. The others are well known in the industry as "W-3" models. The water of the Meadow Branch of Yellow Creek provided the power for the two original James Luffel Co. turbines.
