Barrington
Nova Scotia, Canada

Discover this turbine-driven woolen mill, established in 1882 as a community enterprise. It was a busy, local industry that saved Nova Scotian women endless hours of washing, spinning, and weaving their wool at home.

Sheep grazed on Shelburne County's many offshore islands. At shearing time, their fleece was brought to the mill to be processed into yarn and cloth for the families of fishermen and farmers. Listen to stories about the lives of the workers who once operated the equipment. Imagine the rhythms of the spinner, twister, skeiner, and loom powered by the river's rushing water.

Did you know? Bessie Murray designed and wove the first Nova Scotia tartan in 1953 for the costume of a piper, part of an appliqué mural that now hangs in the Barrington Woolen Mill.

Peak production at the mill took place between 1900 and 1910. World War II, 1939 to 1945, brought new demand for woolen products. The Barrington Woolen Mill was the last small woolen mill from the 1800s in the province. When it ceased production in 1962 it became part of the Nova Scotia Museum system in 1968.

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