DAYTON GOODS. – We have now in daily use, and have had so for twenty-five years, several pairs of blankets made by the Greens at Dayton, and they are apparently good for a dozen years more. This accords with a recent incident at the mill. An old friend of the Greens ordered six pairs of blankets, saying that the four pairs he had bought thirty years ago began to show wear, and as the present would probably last him the rest of his days, he took enough to go ‘round. We have never seen “store” blankets that equaled those made by Jesse Green & Sons at Dayton, in point of either finish or durability, at so low a price.¹

---

1. The Free Trader, 22 Sep 1877, p1, col 2

The Dayton Woolen Mills

            One day last week we took a look through the extensive woolen mills of J. Green & Co., at Dayton. It will be remembered that this is the pioneer establishment of this kind in the state. In 1853 the old wooden structure, near the location of the present mills, ran but one set of machinery; and even in its infant state, and limited capacity, it supplied the farmers for many miles around with excellent cloth and good stocking yarn, and furnished them with a good market for wool. Mr. John Green, the senior member of the present firm, wisely concluded to add to and extend the mills in capacity, – so as to keep pace with the rapid growth of the country around.

            In 1864 the new building was erected. It is built of Joliet stone, is one hundred feet by fifty, and six stories high, and not only solid and durable in its construction, but elegant in architectural design externally, and handsomely furnished internally, and is, altogether, a most splendid building.

            The firm now constantly run eleven broad and three narrow looms; six spinning jacks, of 240 spindles each; three fulling mills, besides proper apparatus for all other purposes, in proportion, and give constant and remunerative employment to a large number of people, male and female.

            The Dayton mill’s doeskins and beavers took the premiums at the fair of the North-western States, in 1868, besides the silver medals and diplomas at the state fair last year. Their goods are all of a superior grade, and find a ready market all over the country. As an instance, we may mention, that an agent of this firm sold five thousand dollars worth of the Dayton goods in Iowa in a single month’s trip, where the goods had never been introduced before.

            The Dayton cloths, blankets, yarn, &c., are the best and cheapest any one can purchase, and are made in good faith and always warranted to be made of the best material and in the best manner.

The Ottawa [IL] Free Trader, July 6, 1870

This ad for the Dayton Woolen Factory appeared in the Ottawa Free Trader on April 26, 1844. Jesse and David Green, the proprietors, advertised for people to bring their wool to be processed.

Customers could trade their wool on the spot for finished product, thereby not having to make a second trip to pick up their cloth when finished, or they could have their wool worked on shares, where the merchant took a share of the wool as his charge for making the cloth.

The customer also had a larger choice when choosing the finished material. He could also choose to only have the wool carded and/or spun, so that it could be spun or woven at home.

For cloth woven at home, it could be finished at the factory. Fulling (the scouring and thickening of the cloth), shrink-proofing, dyeing, and pressing — all would be done in a workman-like manner.

In August, 1845, Jesse and David Green, proprietors of the Dayton Woolen Mill made a concerted effort to collect the money due to them. The following appeared in the Ottawa Free trader on
August 15.

Wheat Wanted

The subscribers would say to those indebted to them, either by note or book account, that they will receive wheat in payment for their dues, if delivered soon at John Green’s Mills, Dayton, for which the highest market prices will be given.

They have an assortment of good grey, brown and black fulled cloths; satinette; jeans; tweeds; red, white and pressed flannels, of a superior quality, which they are offering at prices that will make it an object for persons desirous of encouraging domestic manufactures to give us a call, and examine the goods we are now making.

The highest price will be allowed for wheat, in exchange for our cloths.

J. & D. GREEN
Dayton Factory, Aug. 15

DAYTON GOODS. – We have now in daily use, and have had so for twenty-five years, several pairs of blankets made by the Greens at Dayton, and they are apparently good for a dozen years more. This accords with a recent incident at the mill. An old friend of the Greens ordered six pairs of blankets, saying that the four pairs he had bought thirty years ago began to show wear, and as the present would probably last him the rest of his days, he took enough to go ‘round. We have never seen “store” blankets that equaled those made by Jesse Green & Sons at Dayton, in point of either finish or durability, at so low a price.¹

---

The Ottawa [Illinois] Free Trader, 22 Sep 1877, p1, col 2

The Dayton woolen factory’s products came in a range of colors. In order to produce the various shades, a large number of vegetable dyes had to be kept on hand. From an inventory of the factory in 1873, they had a variety of dyes and other products used in making woolen cloth.

Before dyeing, the raw wool had to be washed and cleaned with something that would remove the oils that occur naturally. The oxalic acid listed in the inventory would have been used on the wool as a first step.

Alum, chrome, and soda ash were used as dye fixatives, or mordants.

Extract of logwood, a purplish-red natural dye obtained from the logwood tree, could produce black, grey, navy blue, purple, violet or lavender, depending on the mordant used.

Sicily sumac could produce dyes of red, yellow, black, or brown.

Cudbear was extracted from a lichen and produced dyes in the purple range.

Camwood produced a brilliant but non-permanent red dye.

Brazilwood extract produces bright reds, corals, and pinks.

Fustic , a bright yellow dye, is very colorfast. It is frequently combined with other dyes to produce a range of yellow and green colors.

Lard oil was used to prepare the dyed and dried wool for carding.

Large quantities of these were kept on hand. The inventory listed 533 pounds of logwood; 800 pounds of Sicily sumac; 1260 pounds of Camwood and more than a ton of soda ash.

It was certainly a colorful business!

 

The woolen factory at Dayton produced many different products. Cassimere was a closely woven twilled fabric. It had a smooth surface and was used for suits. Jean was not the same fabric as denim in the 19th century. Topcoats, vests and jackets could be made of jean in different colors – black, blue, or white. Denim was used for work clothes worn by manual laborers, while other workers would be dressed in tailored trousers made of jean. Although the two fabrics were similar, denim was made with one colored thread and one white thread; jean was woven of two threads of the same color.

Sock yarn could be had in a light mixture or in a blue grey. Carpet yarn also came in assorted colors. Blankets (white, grey, or multicolored) and buggy rugs were available to keep out winter’s cold and wind. Carpet was made in a number of styles and flannel could be purchased in white, scarlet, grey striped, or black and white check.

Other varieties of cloth included satinett (half wool and half cotton, but finished the same as wool); doeskin (a twilled fabric that came in different weights); linsey (a strong, coarse fabric with a linen or cotton warp and a woolen weft); and tweed.

Maud Green remembered that “Grandma [Barbara Grove Green] spent her time knitting socks and long stockings for all of us, out of factory yarn, and we had woolen underwear, skirts and dresses made of factory flannel.”

 

This woven coverlet is one of my treasured family heirlooms. It was produced at the Dayton Woolen Factory and has been handed down in the family for over 150 years. The pattern is an example of an overshot pattern, where the horizontal yarn shoots over several vertical yarns at a time. The slight discontinuity in the pattern (circled) shows where two lengths woven on a 36 inch loom were joined to make the full sized coverlet.

The factory made many kinds of cloth, as noted in this ad. Satinet was a satin-weave fabric made with cotton warp and wool filling; cassimere, a twill-weave, worsted suiting fabric; flannel, a fabric made in plain or twill weave, usually with carded yarns and napped for added warmth. My great-aunt remembered that the family was always well-supplied with stockings knit from factory yarn and the family clothing, as well as the blankets for their beds, were products of the factory. Fabric was obtainable in many colors, with basic grey, brown and black as well as blue, scarlet, green, and red. I also have another, light-weight, blanket from the factory which is a pale yellow. The products of the factory were of a high quality, as evidenced by the awards they won at cattle shows and county and state fairs, throughout Illinois and other states in the midwest.