Research Catalog

Title

Watkins Mill : the factory on the farm / Louis W. Potts & Ann M. Sligar.

Author

Potts, Louis W., 1944-

Publication

Kirksville, MO : Truman State University Press, [2004], ©2004.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Sligar, Ann M.

Description

xiv, 216 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color), portraits; 26 cm

Summary

"When Waltus Watkins, a successful farmer and entrepreneur, decided to open a woolen mill on his rural western Missouri property in the late 1850s, he was not just undertaking another commercial venture. By locating the factory on his farm rather than in one of the thriving nearby towns, Watkins was making a conscious decision to blend agriculture and industry. In so doing, he addressed a philosophical question that had been raised a generation before by Thomas Jefferson and others: the role of technology in a largely agrarian society. As the United States entered the Industrial revolution and then the Civil War, the folkways and nature of work changed drastically. Watkins Mill reflects that transition, as Watkins embraced new technologies yet clung to a more traditional and paternalistic management style. In seeking to shape the values and habits of his employee-neighbors through local institutions such as the school and church he left his mark on an entire community."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Watkins, Waltus L., 1806-1884
• Watkins family
• Businessmen > Lawson > Biography
• Farmers > Lawson > Biography
• Wool industry > Lawson > History > 19th century
• Woolen and worsted manufacture > Lawson > History > 19th century
• Agriculture > Lawson > History > 19th century
• Watkins Woolen Mill State Historic Site (Lawson, Mo.)
• Lawson (Mo.) > Biography
• Lawson (Mo.) > Buildings, structures, etc

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-208) and index.

Contents

1. Driving on in the same old way -- 2. Too good a home there to leave -- 3. Good judgment and attention -- 4. Leaders of the neighborhood -- 5. This unholy war -- 6. A reputation not surpassed by any in the west -- 7. Considerable knowledge and mechanical ingenuity -- 8. None but sober and industrious men need come here -- 9. The last time we'll turn the wheels -- Epilogue : what eventually will become of the mill? -- App. A. Watkins mill chronology -- App. B. Abbreviated family tree -- App. C. Hierarchy of Watkins mill employees, 1870.

ISBN

1931112223

LCCN

2002014248

OCLC

• ocm50643629
• SCSB-5070166

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries