Bancroft Mills
Encyclopedia
Bancroft Mills is an abandoned mill complex along Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware
, United States
. It has been the site of some of the earliest and most famous mills near Wilmington and was the largest and longest running complex along the Brandywine.
Gilpin Mills was opened on the site in 1787 and was the first paper mill
in Delaware. Bancroft Mills was opened in 1831 by Joseph Bancroft, an English immigrant who had worked in the Midlands textile industry. The mill was rebuilt following a 1839 flood and was expanded several times, including a large 1895 expansion. Separately Riddle Mills were built in 1845, on neighboring land and grew rapidly. The mills were consolidated in 1895 by the Bancroft family partnership, which was soon reformed into a corporation. In 1880, at half of its future size, Bancroft Mills was described as the largest cotton finishing mill in the United States, and in 1930 it was described as one of the largest cotton finishing works in the world.
By the 1880s the firm was controlled by Samuel Bancroft who became the publisher of the Wilmington newspaper "Every Evening" and a major philanthropist. His collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings formed the basis of the Delaware Art Museum
.
His brother William donated nearby land to start Wilmington's extensive park system, and his donation for a public library is also considered the beginning of the Wilmington Public Library.
While the Riddle Mills produced high quality cloth, the Bancroft Mills were noted for their technological innovation and for finishing cloth that had been produced elsewhere. They were especially noted for producing fabric window shades. Bancroft introduce the mercerizing process into the United States, and pioneered the use of synthetic fabrics in weaving. They introduced the first permanent crease fabrics and Ban-Lon
.
As textile producers left the northeastern United States for the southern states, Bancroft Mills closed in 1961.
The complex was recently owned by Wilmington Piece Dye company which went bankrupt in May 2003. The site was then bought by O'Neill Properties Group, a company specializing in the renovation and revitalization of disused or potentially dangerous parcels of land. Bancroft Mills is scheduled to become a large luxury condominium complex, to be called Rockford Falls. Today the complex stands as a reminder of the significant milling history of the Brandywine Valley.
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It has been the site of some of the earliest and most famous mills near Wilmington and was the largest and longest running complex along the Brandywine.
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
in Delaware. Bancroft Mills was opened in 1831 by Joseph Bancroft, an English immigrant who had worked in the Midlands textile industry. The mill was rebuilt following a 1839 flood and was expanded several times, including a large 1895 expansion. Separately Riddle Mills were built in 1845, on neighboring land and grew rapidly. The mills were consolidated in 1895 by the Bancroft family partnership, which was soon reformed into a corporation. In 1880, at half of its future size, Bancroft Mills was described as the largest cotton finishing mill in the United States, and in 1930 it was described as one of the largest cotton finishing works in the world.
By the 1880s the firm was controlled by Samuel Bancroft who became the publisher of the Wilmington newspaper "Every Evening" and a major philanthropist. His collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings formed the basis of the Delaware Art Museum
Delaware Art Museum
The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 works. The museum, was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artist Howard Pyle and is now celebrating its centennial...
.
His brother William donated nearby land to start Wilmington's extensive park system, and his donation for a public library is also considered the beginning of the Wilmington Public Library.
While the Riddle Mills produced high quality cloth, the Bancroft Mills were noted for their technological innovation and for finishing cloth that had been produced elsewhere. They were especially noted for producing fabric window shades. Bancroft introduce the mercerizing process into the United States, and pioneered the use of synthetic fabrics in weaving. They introduced the first permanent crease fabrics and Ban-Lon
Ban-Lon
Ban-Lon is a trademarked, multistrand, continuous-filament synthetic yarn used in the retail clothing industry. It is artificially crimped in order to achieve greater bulk than ordinary yarns....
.
As textile producers left the northeastern United States for the southern states, Bancroft Mills closed in 1961.
The complex was recently owned by Wilmington Piece Dye company which went bankrupt in May 2003. The site was then bought by O'Neill Properties Group, a company specializing in the renovation and revitalization of disused or potentially dangerous parcels of land. Bancroft Mills is scheduled to become a large luxury condominium complex, to be called Rockford Falls. Today the complex stands as a reminder of the significant milling history of the Brandywine Valley.
See also
- Eleutherian MillsEleutherian MillsFrom 1802 to 1921, Eleutherian Mills was a gunpowder mill site used for the manufacture of explosives by the Du Pont family business. The name also refers to the house on the hill above the mills, which was the first Du Pont family home in America. The business was founded by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont...
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, DelawareNational Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, DelawareThis is a list of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware:This page was transferred for reasons of size from National Register of Historic Places listings in New Castle County, Delaware, of which it is an integral part...