New CT museum exhibit to feature extinct industry. It used to drive state’s workforce

A new permanent exhibit in Windham will open this week featuring the rise and fall of the Connecticut textile industry.

“Thread City: The Rise and Fall of the Connecticut Textile Industry” will open with a reception on Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. at the Windham Textile and History Museum.

The opening reception will include remarks and an informal question and answer with departing Senior Curator and Willimantic Town Historian Dr. Jamie Eves.

“Developed with extensive community input, this exhibition offers a broad, accessible overview of the textile industry’s profound influence on Connecticut,” according to a statement. “Serving as an essential companion to the Museum’s other installations, it traces the story of textile production from its earliest forms through the industry’s decline locally. More than 100 artifacts are presented across five thematic bays: preindustrial textile production, the Industrial Revolution, labor history, mill cities and towns, and deindustrialization.”

Eves researched, designed and installed the exhibit, who last year was honored by the Connecticut League of Museums’ inaugural Jamie Eves Award, a merit-based honor recognizing excellence in museum work in Connecticut.

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The Mill Museum invites everyone in the community to celebrate and explore the “complex legacy of the industry that shaped Connecticut’s identity,” according to a statement.

The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located at 411 Main St., Willimantic, CT.

https://www.courant.com/2025/12/02/new-ct-museum-exhibit-to-feature-extinct-industry-it-used-to-drive-states-workforce/