Wool spinning wheel, 1820-1840

Mary Holt Bond used this spinning wheel in Marion County in southern Illinois where she had moved from Virginia with her husband James B. Bond after their marriage in 1827. While spinning wool, the spinner stepped forward and back, turning the wheel by hand and pulling the wool fibers from a soft "roll" as it twisted into yarn. Mary Bond's wheel has typically midwestern spokes, which are weighted at the outside to add momentum and make spinning easier.

Probably made in Marion County, IL
Wood, iron
Gift of Charles Lincoln McMackin, II, Salem, IL (750110)

Furniture | Wood

© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96