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Provenance

From the estate of Larry Derrer, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Mill Employees of Stehli Silks Corporation Photograph, 1927 August 25, SC 0372, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Purchased at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates' Americana Auction on March 22, 2024.

Administrative History

On January 14, 1921, the Stehli Silks Corporation opened its Harrisonburg mill on the corner of W. Wolfe St. and N. Brook Ave. Stehli Silks was a Swiss textile manufacturing company that also operated plants in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; High Point, North Carolina; and Waynesboro, Virginia. By October 1921, the Harrisonburg mill employed 85 women. In July 1933, Stehli Silks increased its Harrisonburg employment roll from 400 to 500 workers.

The Harrisonburg mill was sold to Schwarzenbach Huber Co., a New York-based textile company, in May 1957 and subsequently closed in June 1957.

Scope and Contents

Black-and-white panoramic photograph of the employees and silk mill at the Stehli Silks Corporation in Harrisonburg. Approximately 164 employees and one dog are photographed in front of the mill. The photograph is labeled "Mill Employees of Stehli Silks Corp. Harrisonburg, Va." and "Harry Staley Harrisonburg Va. 8-25-27."

Several buildings are pictured in the distance, most notably Otterbein United Methodist Church. Massanutten Peak is also faintly visible.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Derrer, Larry, 1944-2022
• Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates
• Mills and mill-work -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg -- Employees
• Otterbein United Methodist Church (Harrisonburg, Va.)
• Panoramic photographs
• Photographs
• Silk industry -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg -- Employees
• Stehli Silks Corporation
• Stehli Silks Corporation -- Employees