The village of Hanks Hill in Mansfield was the home of silk manufacturing company of Hanks Brothers. The original mill, built by Rodney Hanks and his nephew Horace Hanks in 1810 and believed to be the first water powered silk mill in the United States, was purchased by Henry Ford in the 1930s and moved to the Greenfield Village open air museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Another mill building was destroyed by fire in 1882 and replaced by the building at 247 Hanks Hill Road, now much altered to serve as a residence. It is just across the street from the Hanks Reservoir. Nearby, at 233 Hanks Hill Road, is a former boarding house for mill employees, built in the early nineteenth century (or as early as 1789).
Hank’s Mill (1882)
I really enjoying spending time here in the 80’s when Ray Hitchcock, Professor of Sculpture at UConn (now deceased) lived here. He had big celebrations around the pond where his large bronze sculptures were installed. The lower level where the water wheel had been was made into a sauna, and Ray’s studio.
Daniel,
I love reading your posts. You do a fabulous job with researching and laying out the history of each thing you publish. Thank you.
Lynn,
Thank you very much, I appreciate it!
Dan
Kathryn,
Wow Kathryn, you were very lucky to live in this place during those years!