In the 1800s, the Barrington Woolen Mill was an important local business that used machinery and water power to turn raw fleece into the yarn and cloth needed to make warm, durable clothing.

Powered by the mill’s rushing river, machines like the spinner, twister, skeiner and loom made it possible to wash, pick, card, spin, dye and weave wool in a fraction of the time it took to do by hand.

Today, visitors can step inside the preserved mill and discover how small manufacturing operations like this helped shape Nova Scotia by offering growing communities valuable services and jobs.