The Return of the Spinning Wheel

In 2017 LCHS received a call from a historical society member in Oklahoma who wanted to donate a spinning wheel that had once been used in Lawrence County by Sarah Elizabeth Henry Westall, born in 1851.

Sarah moved to Lawrence County about 1870 from Perry County, Ohio bringing the wheel with her. It is at least 175 years old and might have been her mother’s, which would make it even older. It had recently been in the possession of the late Thomas Petty, Yukon, OK, the g-g-g-grandson of Joseph Petty who settled in Petty Township, Lawrence County, Illinois.

To return this priceless artifact to Lawrence County, one doesn’t just call UPS or Fed Ex and ship it, so one of the curators drove out and picked it up. The diameter of the wheel is 44” alone and it is 58” high from the floor to the top of the wheel. The platform is 6 ½ ft. long. The wheel was removed to fit in a Jeep and all parts carefully wrapped. A yarn hank winder was also part of the donation so it was packed in as well.

Once back at the History Center, the volunteers researched how the large spinning wheel worked. This type of wheel is called a walking wheel and used to spin cotton or wool fibers into thread. The user walked forward and backward to keep the wheel turning. But when the volunteeers tried to ‘thread’ the wheel, the task proved difficult. There seemed to be a part missing.

Research on the Internet showed this to be true. Plans were discussed to try to have one of our local craftsmen construct a small 4” wheel and other parts for a complete mechanism. But before that could happen, the spindle part was discovered for sale on eBay. Bidding failed to acquire it, but fortuitously, another one was found for sale at a more reasonable price and purchased from a seller in Vermont who had a lot of old parts.

Doubts as to whether the purchased part would fit or match the wood color were soon eliminated when the box arrived. The part was taken out and slipped right into the spot on the wheel as if it were made to fit. The wood was the same type and color and possibly the same age. It was like the parts were made for each other at the same time.

The now complete wheel, returned to Lawrence County where it was once used, stands in the History Center as a tribute to all women who once used wheels like this one to spin thread to weave into cloth for their family’s clothes.

Please help us save our history. Join the Lawrence County Historical Society today or donate to one of our special projects. Stop by the Research Library or the History Center to learn how you can help.