West Virginia has historically had two main types of spinning wheels. The smaller wheel, often called a flax wheel, is operated with a foot treadle while the spinner sits. The other is much larger. Known as a great wheel or walking wheel, it requires the spinner to stand and turn the large drive wheel by hand while simultaneously drafting the fibers into yarn (see sidebar for how to spin wool).

Large wheels are also called wool wheels because they can efficiently spin wool and generally produce more yarn per hour than smaller treadle wheels. They are also well suited for spinning cotton and have been used for that purpose in the southeastern United States. They are less effective, however, for spinning the long fibers of flax used to make linen, which are more easily handled on a treadle wheel.

Before the Industrial Revolution, most rural West Virginia families spun their own yarn from sheep’s wool, and many continued the practice well into the 20^th century. Some families raised their own sheep, while others purchased wool from a neighboring farmer. The 1880 agricultural census recorded 674,760 sheep in West Virginia, not including lambs. That year, the state’s sheep produced an equal number of fleeces and 2,681,444 pounds of wool clippings.

The great wheel’s simple construction made it well suited to rural life. Skilled woodworkers could build one using basic tools, and rural communities generally could not support full-time wheelwrights because a well-made wheel could outlast its owner. Many great wheels more than 200 years old remain in working condition today.

Nearly all walking wheels have three legs, providing stability on uneven floors such as those found in log cabins and on porches. Typically, two legs support the end with the large drive wheel, while a third supports the opposite end, where the spindle post and spinning head are located.

A drive band runs around the large wheel and the small pulley attached to the spindle. As the spinner turns the large wheel, the drive band turns the spindle, twisting the fibers into yarn. The spindle rotates many times for every revolution of the drive wheel, allowing the spinner to produce yarn efficiently. Because the drive band must maintain the proper tension, wheelmakers developed different methods of adjusting it, which varied by region.

Types of Wheels

More than a dozen types of tensioning systems have been identified on great wheels, along with other construction features that can help determine where a wheel was made. The two most common systems are known as “single screw” and “slider.” West Virginia has examples of screw wheels, but slider wheels are more common. One particularly distinctive type is the “hinged post” wheel, a design rarely found outside West Virginia.

Wheelmakers also varied the number of spokes and other construction details. Virginia and West Virginia have more 14-spoke wheels than any other states, while 16-spoke wheels are extremely rare. A study of nearly 10,000 great wheels found only 10 16-spoke examples in the United States and one in Canada. Two of the American examples are hinged post wheels made by a member of the Rader family, which originally settled at Upper Tract in Pendleton County before relocating to Rader Hollow, west of Lewisburg.

Noted Wheelmakers

Among West Virginia’s better-known wheelmakers was Lemuel Chenoweth (1811-1887) of Beverly. Best known for building covered bridges and barns, Chenoweth also made furniture, coffins, and spinning wheels. His access to a variety of hardwoods allowed him to select each species according to its particular strengths. Most wheels have oak rims, with other components made from one or two additional types of wood. Chenoweth used slippery elm, black gum, black walnut, cherry, hard maple, white oak, and hickory in his wheels.

Chenoweth’s wheels are also distinctive for their size. They are about 39 inches in diameter, compared with 41 to 43 inches for most other West Virginia wheels. Exceptions occur in Monongalia, Marion, and Harrison counties, where some wheels measure 47 to 48 inches across. These larger wheels have very wide rims, heavy spokes, and little slope to the bench. Their slider systems often have octagonal nuts, a feature associated with Dunkard wheels. Two West Virginia examples have an identical twin near Strasburg, Virginia, originally a Dunkard settlement.

Other distinctive wheels found in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle and Virginia’s northern Shenandoah Valley feature decorative turnings, a shaped slider block with a slot cut directly into the bench rather than a separate block, and sometimes a stretcher connecting the two legs at the lower end. They are believed to have been made by Richard Fossett (also spelled Fawcett), whose family members were Quaker woodworkers from Frederick County, Virginia. Fossett later operated his business in Shepherdstown, where he may have relocated to take advantage of reliable waterpower to operate a lathe. A photograph of one of these wheels appears in Pennington and Taylor’s book Spinning Wheels and Accessories.

Knowledge of West Virginia’s spinning wheels has also been preserved by collectors. For decades, Jim Costa of Summers County has collected antique West Virginia tools, including spinning wheels. His research has helped identify wheelwrights from southern West Virginia, including “Old Tommy” Henning, Jacob Wickline, and William Madison Bostic. Their work, along with that of other regional craftsmen, illustrates the variety and craftsmanship found in West Virginia’s traditional spinning wheels.

Thread, String, Twine Cord, and Yarn

The terms thread, string, twine, cord, and yarn are sometimes used interchangeably, but each has a distinct meaning. Thread is the finest of these materials and is used primarily for sewing and some types of embroidery. It is tightly spun and plied for strength and smoothness and is commonly made from plant fibers such as cotton or linen.

String is thicker than thread and is generally used for tying or binding objects. Twine is thicker still and is usually less tightly spun or plied because of its greater diameter. Baling twine is a familiar example.

Cord can be made simply by plying strands together, but it is often woven, which helps prevent the entire cord from unraveling if one strand breaks. Some cords are woven around a core of additional threads for even greater strength.

Yarn generally has less twist than thread, allowing it to remain flexible and suitable for making fabric by weaving or knitting. It can be made from either animal or plant fibers.

This article is part of By the People Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The 
initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the 
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.