Letter from John Hanna to George Meriwether in which debates either building a mail factory or a wool manufacturing factory. The latter he believes he will have little competition and not much risk for a fire.
In addition to flax, wool was an important fiber during the colonial and frontier era. Wool combs arranged the fibers, separating the undercoat from outercoat and teasing the wool before carding by disentangling, cleaning and intermixing fibers. This work was done by women for their families, or enslaved laborers for their enslavers.
Hank of wool from Buchanan, Kentucky. Sheep were among the early domesticated animals brought to Kentucky. Home production of wool increased during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 due to trade embargos. Wool was often woven with cotton or hemp in early Kentucky textiles. Wool was also used in clothing.
