Spinning Wheel

Spinning wheels evoke images of white women in early America crafting yarn for their families. Over time, the spinning wheel has become a symbol of the patriotic sentiment in colonial America. However, many enslaved women also identified as spinners, laboring to produce yarn and thread to meet the needs of their enslavers and fellow enslaved individuals. Enslaved spinners were trained to spin flax, cotton, and wool and their thread could be used in the home or sold for profit.

Enslaved spinners Lucindy and Patsy used a spinning wheel similar to this one. Lucindy shared the spinning wheel with an interviewer from the Federal Writers Project’s Slave Narrative Project who noted that “She got out her old spinning wheel; sat down before it and beamed.”