Lehigh Valley Silk Mills
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Lehigh Valley Silk Mills
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Lipps & Sutton Silk Mill. June 2013.
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| Location | Jct. of Seneca and Clewell Sts., Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°36′16″N 75°23′37″W / 40.60444°N 75.39361°WCoordinates: 40°36′16″N 75°23′37″W / 40.60444°N 75.39361°W |
| Area | 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) |
| Built | 1886–1904 |
| Architectural style | Other, Vernacular |
| NRHP Reference # | 93000356 |
| Added to NRHP | April 29, 1993 |
The Lehigh Valley Silk Mills refers to a collection of mills located in the Lehigh Valley. The industry began in 1881 and thrived throughout the Industrial Revolution. The Lehigh Valley Silk Mills also refers to a specific company that owned the Lipps & Sutton Silk Mill and Warren Mill. The first silk mill in the Lehigh Valley opened in 1881 followed by many others. By 1900, there were twenty-three silk establishments in the Lehigh Valley, making Pennsylvania the second largest producer of silk in the world. The silk industry in Pennsylvania peaked in the late 1920s due to cheap labor, mainly from immigrant workers' children and wives. However, after the Great Depression, increasing labor unrest and competition from other textile industries began to affect the silk industry locally and nationally. By 1953, Allentown had become the number one silk city in the world, but even then, the number of looms had decreased. At the time, only six mills continued to work with silk exclusively. Other mills either shut down due to bankruptcy or shifted to the production synthetic fibers.
As the United States entered the Gilded Age, the demand for luxurious silk clothing spiked. During the late 1800s silk was becoming popular with the growing middle class who wished to emulate the wealthy tycoons of the day. The growing industrialized American silk industry answered this demand. After the Civil War, an American silk industry became established in Paterson, New Jersey. There, the silk manufacturers relied on skilled workers, who demand good wages and working conditions. By 1880, new machines were changing the way silk was spun, knitted, and woven, as a result silk mill owners were looking to build new mills in areas with a large supply of low-cost labor. As it turned out, the collapse of the national railroad building boom in 1873 devastated the iron industry. In the wake of closing iron mills, Lehigh Valley business leaders saw an opportunity in the business of silk producers. They advertised the region's good railroads, secure supply of coal power, and cheap non-unionized labor.
Interest in silk in the Lehigh Valley can be seen as early as 1762, but the industry did not become established on a large scale until The Adelaide Silk Mill, the first silk mill in the Lehigh Valley, opened in November 1881. This was soon followed by the R.H. Simon Silk Mill in 1883. By 1900, there were twenty-three silk establishments in the Lehigh Valley, making it and Pennsylvania the world's second-largest producer of silk, second only to New Jersey. As many as 224 mills produced silk in the Lehigh Valley between 1881 and 1989. The silk industry peaked in the late 1920s. The industry was Allentown's largest employer during this time. In 1928, the peak production year, 106 mills operated simultaneously in the Lehigh Valley.
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