The Kedron Knitting Mill

By Jennie Shurtleff

In the early 20th century, one of the cornerstone businesses in South Woodstock was the Kedron Knitting Mill. This business was started around 1924 when Ben and Alice Wood (who had previously been employed by knitting mills in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, and New York City) decided to move to Vermont.

According to Ben and Alice’s daughter, Ruth Wood Quigly, when her parents first moved to the area, they installed a knitting machine in a corn crib on her grandfather’s farm in South Woodstock. They later moved the mill operations to the house that was eventually purchased by Mona and Darwin Hoadley. As the knitting company continued to grow, Ruth’s father entered into a partnership with Robert B. Chapin, and they purchased the old blacksmith shop that had been located across the street from Bartel’s General Store. In this building, they added additional machinery that allowed them to increase their production. While the main knitting was done in this building, most of the finishing work (such as assembling the sweaters and sewing on buttons and labels) was done by four or five women working in the Wood’s home and a number of other women who worked from their own homes.

In 1933, just before Christmas, the Wood family went shopping. When they returned, they found the knitting mill had burned. Luckily the fire, which had been discovered by a neighbor, had been contained and didn’t destroy any of the nearby structures. Bartel’s Store, which was across the street, had gasoline pumps and tanks, and the firemen were afraid that the heat from the fire might cause these tanks to explode. Although they were able to avoid a catastrophic explosion, the mill was a total loss, with $12,000 in estimated damage.

The day after the fire, Ruth stated, the family’s phone was ringing all day long with friends and neighbors offering both condolences and their help to rebuild the mill. Their outpouring of support convinced the Wood family to rebuild the mill in South Woodstock.

After the fire, Ben Wood’s partnership with Robert B. Chapin was dissolved, and Ben (with the help of the community) undertook the monumental task of rebuilding the mill during the winter months. A local man, named Ivan Shove, who had just graduated from college,  offered to draw up some building plans for the Woods. Other neighbors donated timber, which they drew to Paul Kendall’s sawmill to be cut into lumber. Still others, including children, came to help with the building on weekends and as time allowed.

In March of 1934, when the new mill was complete, the Wood family had a “Dedication Ball,” replete with two bands.

When the new mill began operating, the first floor was equipped with machinery that was used to make the various sweater parts, such as sleeves and bodies. On the second floor, there was an office and a space to complete the sweater assembly and finishing work. The third floor was used as a storage area, and the basement was used for pressing and packing.

The machinery in the mill included two power machines for making the bodies of the sweaters, while the sleeves, bottoms, and cuffs were still made on hand-powered machines. The mill used wool yarn that was purchased from Massachusetts and came in five basic colors: black, white, navy, Dartmouth green, and maroon. For special orders, other colors were sometimes used.

A few women continued to do finishing work from their own homes even after the construction of the new mill was completed. One of those women was Denny Marshall. In her oral history, Ruth Wood Quigley shared that Denny, who was quite elderly, would come by periodically to pick up the sweater parts at the mill and take them to her home. Ruth’s father, in an attempt to help, offered to deliver the materials to Denny; however, Denny informed him that if he gave her preferential treatment, she’d quit. After that, Denny did purchase a baby stroller which she would use so that she could more easily transport the knitted materials that she was picking up or delivering.

At this time, the knitting mill had several major distributors and supplied a number of individual department stores throughout New England. In 1940, the knitting mill expanded once again, when the Wood family partnered with Owen Moon, Earl Ransom, and Ed Welchman. The business was incorporated and renamed Vermont Kedron Mill Inc.

In 1941 there was another major change. Ruth’s father passed away. The business continued to operate until the outbreak of World War II. However, because of wartime restrictions, the company could no longer get good quality wool. Since the mill had always prided itself on the quality of its products, the owners decided to close the mill rather than sell inferior sweaters.

As for the knitting mill itself, which had been designed years earlier by a young Ivan Shove who had just graduated from college, it was sold to Ivan who established his wood working shop in the building. Ivan Shove’s business, in turn, like the knitting mill before it, became an important part of the business and social fabric of South Woodstock.