Diamond Silk Mill, also known as York Silk Manufacturing Company, is a historic
silk mill
A silk mill is a factory that makes silk for garments using a process called silk throwing. Traditionally, silk mills were concentrated in Japan, England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Italy and Switzerland.
The silk throwing process
Silk is a natur ...
located at
Springettsbury Township,
York County, Pennsylvania
York County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Yarrick Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York. The county was created on August 19, 1749, from part of Lancaster ...
. It was designed by architect
John A. Dempwolf and built about 1900. The mill is a 3 1/2-story, brick building with heavy timber frame trussing on a stone foundation, and measures 50 feet by 300 feet. It has a hipped roof, and features an octagonal 100-foot high smokestack and decorative corbelled brick cornice in the
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
style.
[ ''Note:'' This includes ]
In 1910, the mill's business had increased such that it was noted by an industry periodical as becoming a full-time operation and hiring additional workers.
Silk manufacturing would become one of York's most important industries, feeding Lancaster's manufacture of umbrellas. A decline began with the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and continued with the introduction of synthetic fibers in the late 1930s, for which most York mills did not have equipment.
The mill was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1992.
File:Diamond Silk Mill rear YorkCo PA.JPG, Interior court
See also
*
Ashley and Bailey Company Silk Mill
The Ashley and Bailey Company Silk Mill, also known as the Franklin Silk Mill and Leinhardt Brothers Furniture Warehouse, is an historic silk mill which is located in West York, York County, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of ...
, contemporary silk mill 4 miles west in
West York, Pennsylvania
West York is a borough, adjacent to the city of York, in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,094 at the 2020 census.
History
Formally known as the village of Eberton, the Borough of West York was founded in 1904.
The ...
*
Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill
Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill is a historic silk mill located at Marietta, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1897, and is a three-story brick factory building on a limestone foundation. It is 13 bays long and has a low-pitched gable ...
, contemporary silk mill 15 miles east in
Marietta, Pennsylvania
Marietta is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,633 at the 2020 census. It is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River northwest of Columbia.
Geography
Marietta is located in western Lancaster County at (4 ...
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Buildings and structures in York County, Pennsylvania
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Industrial buildings completed in 1900
Romanesque Revival architecture in Pennsylvania
Silk mills in the United States
Springettsbury Township, York County, Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in York County, Pennsylvania