The remote hills of western Maryland are far from the major population centers of the state and a place where geography is more important to life than state boundaries. This former frontier wilderness shares the Allegany coal fields, life styles and values with West Virginia and Pennsylvania. In the early 20th century the coal mines provided most of the employment for the men of the region. In 1907, taking advantage of the cheap and abundant labor pool provided by the wives and children of these miners, the Klotz Throwing Company built a silk throwing mill in the town of Lonaconing, Maryland. For fifty years the clatter of the mill could be heard throughout the town as it produced silk thread from raw silk imported from Japan. The mill eventually closed but was not dismantled and it remains today as it did on that closing day in 1957. It is a time capsule of the good and bad aspects of America's industrial revolution and survives due to the diligent stewardshipof Mr. Herbert Crawford who has, for nearly three decades, owned and maintained the property.
Despite Mr. Crawford's many efforts, adaptive reuse projects involving the mill have not materialized and the future of the last intact silk mill in America is uncertain. I feel that it is important to document this important historic site and the industry that it represents by producing a photographic record of the Lonaconing Silk Mill.
Wayne Firth
October, 2004
