The Bellemonte Silk Mill was constructed in 1881 by silk manufacturer Carolina Lambert of Paterson, NJ, at a cost of $130,000. It housed operations producing silk thread from cocoons imported from Japan. The mill employed 300 workers, and the first manager was William F. Suydam, husband of Christian Dorflinger’s daughter Mary. In 1914 the mill was occupied by the Sherman Underwear Mills and had 360 employees. It operated until the mid-1980s, when it became the home of Castle Antiques and Reproductions, which closed in December 2008.

The native bluestone building is now the Hawley Silk Mill, home to Lackawanna College, the News Eagle newspaper, a gym and a variety of shops and offices. The historic silk mill is also the venue for the Thomas Kennedy Local History Festival on April 16. For more information about the festival, call 570/253-5468 or email yannster@ptd.net.

From the collection of the Wayne County Historical Society 810 Main St., Honesdale, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, February through April 9, and Wednesday through Saturday from April 16 through December.