History

There have been grist  mills on the site of what is now Bondsville Mill Park since the 1700s,  but the woolen mill we see the remains of today was established sometime  early in the 1800s. Abraham Bond, believed to be the third owner of the  mill, opened Bond Woolen Factory producing Kentucky Jeans and  established the factory village of Bondsville.

The mill was  originally water powered using a water wheel which was driven by water  fed from Beaver Creek into the mill race behind the buildings. As new  technologies were developed the mill was powered by steam and finally electricity. You can see this evolution in the buildings that are still  standing and the large concrete pad which was the factory floor up to  the end of production.

During the Civil war the mill produced  uniforms for the Union soldiers. The Collins & Aikman Corporation  purchased the property in 1927 and produced automobile upholstery cloth.  During WWII, the mill produced various products for the military  including fabric for Air Force jacket lining.  After the war, the mill  produced men’s and women’s wear fabrics, as well as their “Candalon”  brand of woven nylon which was used in automobile upholstery. In time,  the corporation closed the mill and the site fell into disrepair.

East Brandywine Township acquired the mill in 2005 using open space funds and work to cleaning up the property and making the collapsed  buildings safe has been ongoing by a dedicated group of volunteers ever  since. While the park opened to the public in 2015, work to expand the  trails network and further stabilize the structures is ongoing.