North Star Woolen Mill

North Star Woolen Mill
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
The North Star Blankets sign
Location:	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Built:	1864
Architect:	Unknown/ Pike & Cook/ C. F. Haglin & Sons[1]
Governing body:	Private

The North Star Woolen Mill is a building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. The building, located in the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, was originally a textile mill for the North Star Woolen Company. The mill was built in 1864 by W.W. Eastman and Paris Gibson on the west side of the west side canal. High quality wool blankets, scarves, flannels, and yarns were manufactured at the facility and it became the nation's largest manufacturer of wool blankets by 1925.

Back of the sign

North Star Woolen Mill

Entrepreneurs in the early days of Minneapolis had high hopes for developing a textile industry at the falls, similar to that of Lowell, Massachusetts. However, the industry never had as much success as hoped for, mainly because Minneapolis was a long distance from eastern markets and shipping centers. The North Star Woolen Mill was an exception, and it remained a significant industry in Minneapolis until the 1940s.^[2]

In 1949 the North Star Woolen Company moved its operations to Lima, Ohio. The building sat empty for almost fifty years until it was re-developed in 1998-99 into lofts. The building maintains its existing exterior including a sign reading "North Star Blankets".

References

• ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE CENTRAL MINNEAPOLIS RIVERFRONT
• north star lofts
• North Star Woolen Mill Company Company records, 1869-1941.

Notes

1. ^ "National Register of Historic Places - National Register District Property Details". National Register of Historic Places. Minnesota Historical Society. 2007-04-25. http://nrhp.mnhs.org/DistrictPropDetails.cfm?DistrictID=5224. 
2. ^ Pennefeather, Shannon M. (2003). Mill City: A Visual History of the Minneapolis Mill District. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society.