Cheney Brothers

Mount Nebo Silk Company was founded in South Manchester, Connecticut in 1838 by six members of the Cheney family. The name was changed to Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Company in 1854. The firm, one of the earliest and most successful silk weavers in the United States, boasted numerous inventions over the years which revolutionized silk reeling and spooling, but one of its most important innovations was the development of a process to use waste silk from broken cocoons to spin silk yarn. Their first successful spun silk cloth was introduced in 1866, in time to serve the many war widows in need of affordable black silk for mourning. The company was known for its extremely conservative style, with many... more.