Historic Appleton wool mill runs for the last time before equipment moves to museum

Tom Courtney, operator of Courtney Woolen Mill announced his retirement and the closure of the mill, but the legacy still stands as the Appleton History Museum announces a permanent exhibition.

Appleton Post-Crescent

APPLETON — For well over a century, the Courtney Woolen Mill has been in business along the Fox River, creating wool and polyester batting for quilts and blankets.

Now, 144 years and four generations of Courtney family later, the mill closed Monday. Owner Tom Courtney decided it was time, and officially announced his retirement.

People took to the mill's Facebook page to share their love and support, from comments about going to the mill with relatives to talking about the quilts made from the mill’s materials. Many congratulated Courtney on his retirement and he says they are what made working at the mill so special.

"The customers that have been coming in, they're first, second, third generation, their parents and great grandparents, you know, came in here to buy batting," Courtney explained to the Post-Crescent Monday.

Courtney appeared at the mill to run the Davis and Ferber carding machine one last time, with about two dozen people were in attendance.

The mill itself is expected to have a new owner, but that doesn’t mean the historic equipment will be thrown away.

The Appleton History Museum, 231 W. Franklin St., has been remodeled for a permanent exhibition highlighting the mill’s legacy, according to a press release shared to the mill's Facebook page by Courtney on June 28.

"Mark Mittlestadt is one of the chief people getting volunteers together and engineers together to move the machine," Courtney said. "The logistics of getting a 144-year-old machine out the door and into the museum and up and running again — just the amount of volunteers that they've had is unreal."

The exhibit will feature the machine, which will be operational, as well as many of the architectural components — to replicate the interior of the mill. It is expected to open later this summer.

"Just getting everything together [for the exhibition], I'm just very excited about that," Courtney said.

For more information and updates on the Appleton History Museum and the mill’s exhibition, visit appletonhistory.com.

Contact Abra Richardson at arichardson@gannett.com.