The sun., 1897-11-14
THE FIRST COTTON MILL
Established Along the Brandy.
- wine.
OPERATED BY JACOB BROOM.
II is Claimed That the First COttO
Mill In America Was Not
at Beverly, Mass, but
in This City.
OPERATED BY JACOB BROOM.

The vicinity Of Wilmington claims the
honor of being the scene of the inaugural
proceedings in the establishment of
many important institutions and the old
pride in honestly claiming such honor
has been awakened by a story which is
being circulated over the country rela-
tive to the first cotton mill in America.
The story is as follows:
Several different towns in the United
States claim the unique distinction of
having erected the first American cotton
mill, but from the best information that
can be obtained it seems that the credit
properly belongs to the town Of Beverly,
Mass.
The circumstances leading up to this
discovery may be of interest to our
readers. Some two or three years ago
Mayor Rantoul of Salem, Mass, was
invited to Pawtucket, R. l., to attend
the centennial exercises held at that
place in commemoration Of the opening
of the famous Slater mill. In sending
out invitations to this centennial event
the ners of mills claimed it to be the
first establishment OF its kind ever
erected in the United States. For some
resson Mayor Rantoul was unable to be
present at the exercises, but being
deeply interested in historical re-
searches, he decided at his leisure to
investigate the claims of the Pawtucket
mill owners. This investigation led to
the discovery that the old cotton mill
at Beverly, Mass, which was burned
down in 1888, had been in operation
fDr several years prior to the establish
ment of the mill at Pawtucket, and that
no less a witness than General
Washington himself could be cited in
confirmation of the fact. 1t seems that
General Washington, while on a tour of
the New England States in 1889, made a
visit to the old Beverly cotton mill, and
was so impressed with the novelty of the
spectacle that he devoted several pages of
his diary to its description. This old
diary is still to be found among General
Washington's papers.
As the researches of Mayor Rantoul
seemed to settle The matter Leyond all
controversy, the residents OF Beverly
Mass, have recently caused handsome
table to be erected on the site OF the old
mill, commcmorating the establishment
of the fr.t enterprise OF its kind ever
inaugurated in the United States.
This story should have peculiar III
tcrcst for Wilmingtonians as the claim
has long ago been made that the first
cotton mill in America was established
along the historic banks OF the Brandy
wine. Inquiry and research on this sub
ject brought out the fact that though the
claim OF this is not as yet absolutely
confirmed, still enough evidence can hc
produced to place the claim OF Beverly,
Mass, in peril Of being reiutcq.
In l757, cotton was grown along Muir
derkill creek, Kent county, Delaware,
and one Jacob Broom, of that county,
produced the plant in large quantities
Several years before the opening OF the
PawtLckct, r. l., mill by Safer, Almcy
4 Brown, Broom came to Will
mington, and buying piece Of
land from man named Gregg, built
a cotton mill on the site of the first
water-power below Rockland. Research
has as yet failed to disclose the exact
date at which Broom's mill was estab-
lishcd, but the fact that it was running
quite while before the Slater mill,
opens the discussion as to whether it
was not operating either at or prior to
the erection of the Beverly mill. In 1896
the Broom mill burned down and
though the Legislature, the fol owing
year authorized Jacob Broom to raise,
by lottery, $1,000, with which to build Il
cotton mill in the borough Of Whining
ton," that mill was never erected. Broom
came into the city and procuring the lot
at Seventh and Shipley streets, now occu-
pied by the Wonderland Theatre, erected
manufactory of drawing-frames and
other machinery for spinning cotton.
Caleb Kirk, descendant of Alphonse
Kirk, who came to Wilmington in 1850,
owned wooIcn mill situated just above
the old Broom cotton mill on the Brandy
wine and, following the destruction Of
the latter, Kirk placed machinery,
though very crude, in his mill and COM
menccd the manufacture of cotton.
Further research among old records
and further inquiry Of old residents will,
it is hoped, allow Of an unrevocable
statement that the first cotton mill in
America was situated on tha RrandvWinp